The Jesuit relations and allied documents : travels and explorations of the Jesuit missionaries in New France, 1610-1791

3)^

■b

THE JESUIT RELATIONS

AND

ALLIED DOCUMENTS

VOL. LI

The edition consists of sev-
en hundred and fifty sets
all numbered

IJo, ^^.3

1 1 1> I ll^/l i^ttl f >^ ■

J io2r(; THE LAW SOCIETY

The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents

Travei^ and Explorations

OF THE Jesuit Missionaries

IN New France

1610-1791

THE ORIGINAL FRENCH, LATIN, AND ITAL-
IAN TEXTS, WITH ENGLISH TRANSLA-
TIONS AND NOTES ; ILLUSTRATED BY
PORTRAITS, MAPS, AND FACSIMILES

EDITED BY

REUBEN GOLD THWAITES
Secretary of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin

Vol. LI

Ottawas, lower Canada, Iroquois

1666 -1668

CLEVELAND: Cbe JBucrows 3Brotbets
Company* publishers, mdcccxcix

Copyright, 1899

BY

The Burrows Brothers Co

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Imperial Press, Cleveland

EDITORIAL STAFF

Editor

Translators

Assistant Editor
Bibliographical Adviser

Reuben Gold Thwaites
FiNLOw Alexander
Percy Favor Bicknell
Crawford Lindsay
William Price
Emma Helen Blair
Victor Hugo Paltsits

CONTENTS OF VOL. LI

Preface to Volume LI . . - 9

Documents: —
CXXL Relation de ce qvi s' est pass6 .... en
la Novvelle France, les ann^es mil
fix cens foixante fix, & mil fix cens
foixante fept. [Second installment,
concluding the document.] Fran-
cois le Mercier, Kebec, November lo,
1667 ; Claude Jean Allouez, n.p., n.d. ;
Thomas Morel, n.p., n.d. ; Marie de
S. Bonaventure, Kebec, October 20,
1667 . . . -19

CXXn. Lettrek . Jacques Briiy as; Mission

de St. Francois Xavier chez les
Iroquois, January 21, 1668 . 118

CXXIII. Journal des PP. J6suites. Francois le

Mercier; January- June, 1668 . 144

CXXIV. Relation de ce qvi s'est pass6 ....
en la Novvelle France, aux ann6es
mil fix cens foixante-fept & mil fix
cens foixante-huit. Francois le Mer-
cier; n.p., n.d. . . '153
Bibliographical Data: Volume LI . . 283
Notes .,,,.. 289

ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. LI

I. Facsimile of handwriting of Jacques

Bmyas, S.J. . . . Facing 142

II. Photographic facsimile of title-page, Re-
lation of 1667-68 . . .156

III. Map of Iroquois Cantons in New York,
in the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries; by Rev. William M. Beau-
champ .... Facing 293

PREFACE TO VOL. LI

Following is a synopsis of the documents contained
in this volume :

CXXI. In Vol. L. were given Chaps, i. -vii. of
Wa^ Relation of 1666-67; the remainder of this docu-
ment is herewith presented. Allouez's journal,
begun in Chap, ii., is continued, forming nearly the
whole of the Relation. He relates his work among
the Ottawa tribes. They are extremely licentious
and superstitious, and therefore care little for the
gospel; yet many attend the chapel services and
instructions, and he baptizes about eighty children.
The savages have lost their former dread of baptism
as causing death; they now imagine that this rite
will cure sickness, and raise up the dying. The
Father ministers especially to the sick and the dying;
he finds only four adults who are worthy of baptism.

AUouez next mentions his labors among the Potta-
wattomies. These people he has met at Lake
Superior, whither they resort. He considers them
more friendly and tractable, and less licentious, than
other tribes in that region. The Father visits their
cabins during their stay there, and baptizes thirty-
four little children ; a few adults are also converted —
among them a man " about a hundred years old, who
was regarded by the Savages as a sort of divinity."
When he dies, his people burn the corpse, instead
of burying it in the ground. This procedure arises
from a legend current among them, which is here

10 PREFACE TO VOL. LI

related. Allouez relatCvS the particulars of his labors
with these people, and of the conversions occurring
amonof them. Bands of the Sacs and Foxes also
sojourn near Chequamegon, to whom Allouez preaches
the faith ; and he baptizes some of their children.

The seed of the true religion has been carried
among the Illinois tribes by some of their own
people, whom Allouez has instructed. He regards
that nation as offering a most promising field for
missionary labor; he finds them friendly, and more
inclined than other tribes to recognize a Supreme
Being. He describes a ceremony peculiar to them,
the calumet dance.

He meets also some wandering Sioux and Cree
savages ; regarding all these distant tribes, he gives
much curious information, gathered from conversa-
tion with these people. The Crees invite him to
spend the winter with them; but he cannot leave
his present field to do so. The Nipissing Indians —
in the days of the Huron mission, instructed by the
Jesuits — have been driven by fear of the Iroquois
to Lake Nipigon, where Allouez visits them, — cross-
ing the western end of Lake Superior in a frail canoe,
three men paddling without any halt for twelve or
fifteen hours each day. He finds among these people
twenty professed Christians, as well as many infidels ;
and he spends there two weeks of constant ministra-
tion and instruction.

Le Mercier concludes, from Allouez's report, that
missionaries to the Northwest should have a fixed
residence, with men to work for their maintenance
and to erect chapels for religious services. This is
Allouez's own plan, to execute which he descends to
Quebec for aid. He obtains Father Nicolas, with

PREFACE TO VOL. LI 11

five men, and supplies of food, clothing, etc. ; but
the Indians with whom he has come down are ill-
humored, and refuse to take more than three French-
men, with but a small part of their baggage. There
is, accordingly, " reasonable doubt whether they can
reach the country; or, if they do so, of their ability
to maintain themselves there very long."

The mission at Lake St. John has been very
successful, under the care of Father Nouvel. The
miraculous deliverance of a captive Christian from
the hands of the Iroquois is here recounted.

The vigorous measures of Tracy in dealing with
the Mohawks have brought them to their senses;
and they entreat for peace, bringing hostages to
Quebec; they also ask for Jesuits to reside among
them. The missions to the Iroquois tribes are
accordingly reestablished. Fremin and Pierron are
detailed to the Mohawks, and Bruyas to the Oneidas;
they depart in July, 1667, with the deputies from
those tribes. Upon reaching Lake Champlain, they
find that Mohican warriors are lying in ambush on
the way, in order to attack these Iroquois envoys.
The Fathers finally advance, despite this danger;
the result is not yet known at Quebec.

The final chapter of the Relation narrates various
miraculous cures wrought through devotions per-
formed at the church of Ste. Anne, at Cote de Beau-
pr6. This is furnished by Thomas Morel, a mission
priest of the Seminary of Quebec.

Appended to this Relation, as to those immediately
preceding, is a letter (dated October 20, 1667) from
the superior of the Quebec hospital. She renders
thanks for the generous gifts sent from France for
the sick, and states that the great increase in the

12 PREFACE rO VOL. LI

work of the hospital renders a larger house neces-
sary. " The latest ship alone brought us twenty-
four men and sixteen girls as patients — in addition
to those from the other vessels that had already
arrived, and those from this Country itself, who
come daily." The nuns find the intendant, Talon,
a warm and helpful friend. He and other prominent
persons in Canada think the hospital the most useful
enterprise that could have been undertaken there.
" No one dies in our Hospital, or leaves it, without
giving proofs of a genuine conversion." A Hugue-
not, " whom all regarded as the most obstinate man
on earth," abjures his heresy in less than three days
after being taken to the hospital ; and dies " with the
feelings of a true penitent. ' * The peace made with
the Iroquois by Tracy and Courcelles is mentioned
as a blessing to the country. " Canada is utterly
changed since the arrival of those Gentlemen; we
who saw it in the beginning hardly know it any
longer. ' ' The superior sends the usual memorandum
of articles needed for the hospital, urging the benevo-
lent to send all these, and even more, if possible.

CXXH. Jacques Bruyas, who has been sent as a
missionary to the Oneidas, writes a letter (dated Jan-
uary 21, 1668) from the chief village of that tribe.
He begins by some mention of the country and its
natural products. The people themselves are ' ' alto-
gether barbarous — that is to say, cruel, secret,
cunning, and inclined to blood and Carnage."
Besides this, they are so licentious and drunken, and
so swayed by their dreams, that the faith meets here
unusual obstacles. Brandy is supplied to them by
the Dutch ; it renders them demons. Bruyas men-
tions one of the converts, who, as the Father thinks,

PREFACE TO VOL. LI 13

is the only man in his village who is faithful to his
wife. The life of the missionary has been more than
once threatened, especially on account of some sav-
age's dream. He is often asked if, in Paradise, they
will have bear's meat to eat, if they will go to war
there, and scalp men, etc. To these " Impertinent
questions" he is obliged to reply, " If such are thy
desires, thou wilt be satisfied."

Bruyas, not understanding the Iroquois tongue,
except the little that he has learned in a few months'
stay among these people, can do but little in preach-
ing to them the faith. He has baptized sixty chil-
dren, and but four adults, and does what he can in
the instruction of the people. " The Campaign of
monsieur de tracy among their neighbors has aided
not a little in their conversion." Bruyas has made
two converts; this gives him " great courage, and a
great desire to do better work." The life he leads
" among these barbarians is one continual martyr-
dom ; and the fires of the Iroquois would be easier
to bear than the trials one endures among them."
After recounting some of these hardships, he adds:
" There is a great difference between meditating
upon the Canada mission in one's oratory, and finding
oneself exercising the duties of a Canadian mission-
ary." Still, he is full of zeal, and of hope for the
future.

CXXIII. In the present volume we give the
Journal des /^suites for January to June, 1668 — the
last of this important record which is known to be
still extant. There is but little of interest, however,
to note in this short period. Early in January, Jean
Bourdon dies — " a very Christian death." Feb. 19,
encouraging news is received from the Mohawk mis-

14 PREFACE TO VOL. LI

sion. In March, Julien Gamier, not yet twenty-five
years old, is examined in theology. Soon afterward,
he becomes missionary priest for the Cote de Lau-
son. Good news comes also from Nouvel, at Tadous-
sac. A slight earthquake shock occurs April 13.
The next day, the physician Giffard dies; like
Bourdon, he was one of the Canadian pioneers. In
May, Garnier goes to Oneida, as a colleague to
Bruyas : and Marquette, to the Ottawa country. Le
Mercier goes to La Prairie, — the estate donated by
Abb6 de la Madeleine to the Jesuits, — and grants
more than forty concessions to settlers there.

CXXIV. In this volume we present Chaps, i.- viii.
of the Relation of 1667 - 68 ; the remainder will appear
in Vol. LII. Le Mercier, in a short prefatory note,
announces that missions have at last been established
among all the five Iroquois nations, who are now in
wholesome fear of the French. Many of the troops
sent from France have become settlers in Canada,
thus greatly increasing its defensive power. More
missionaries are needed for the great fields opened
to them by the peace. Le Mercier recounts the
advantages accruing to the French colony through
their liberation from the Iroquois raids. New settle-
ments are springing up along the shores of the St.
Lawrence. " More than 300 families have become
settlers in a comparatively short time ; and marriages
are so frequent that, in the last three years, ninety-
three have occurred in the Parish of Quebec alone."
Agriculture is flourishing, and hunters may now
safely go to look for game in the forests. Trade
with the Indians has revived, even distant tribes
coming down to the French settlements — some of
these being hitherto strangers to the white men.

PREFACE TO VOL. LI 15

Even the Iroquois come to trade with the French,
as if they had always been friends. These old-time
marauders are kept in wholesome awe by the vigor-
ous government of Courcelles ; while Talon has been
doing wonders in developing the resources of the
country and encouraging its commerce. His tem-
porary successor continues this good work. The
regiment of Carignan is recalled to France ; but many
of the officers, and more than four hundred soldiers,
avail themselves of the permission to become settlers
in Canada — a valuable increase in the population.
Efforts are being made to educate the Indian chil-
dren, not only by the Jesuits and Sulpitians, but by
the government officials. A beginning is already
made in manufactures, and the country is becoming
fairly supplied with live-stock. " The Brewery
which Monsieur Talon is having built will also con-
tribute not a little to the public welfare, by causing
a decrease in the use of intoxicating drinks," by
keeping money in the country, and by using the
surplus of grain which is now produced in Canada.

But the best effects of the peace are seen in the
reestablishment of the missions. Six Jesuits are at
work in the Iroquois country, who have already made
an auspicious beginning. Four others are doing
good work among the Ottawas, another at Tadoussac,
and one among the Micmacs of Gasp6. More Sulpi-
tians have come from France, and they have begun
a mission to a Cayuga colony on the north shore of
Lake Ontario.

The missions to the Iroquois tribes are described
at length. That to the Mohawks is given in the
journal kept by the Fathers sent thereon. An
account of their journey to the Mohawk villages is

16 PREFACE TO VOL. LI

given; the Fathers are there received "with all
imasfinable honor. ' ' Some conversions secured there
are recounted in detail ; one of these neophytes shows
a wonderful constancy amid the persecutions of her
relatives. The coimcil at the chief village, at which
the Fathers meet all the Mohawk chiefs and elders,
is described. Fremin speaks for the governor, as
well as for his brethren, and announces to the savages
that any one of their number caught in hostilities
will be promptly hanged on a gibbet. This has the
desired effect; the Mohawks give up the captives
demanded by the French, and promise to build a
chapel for the Fathers. This they do, and the mis-
sion among this tribe is at once begun. The captive
Hurons are glad to resume the church services and
rites; and the Fathers make the circuit of all the
villages, giving instruction, administering the sacra-
ments, and caring for these infant churches. Other
captives, taken by the Iroquois " in all parts of
Canada," are drawn to the new faith. One of these,
an Ottawa, is rescued from torture by Fremin, and
is converted and baptized, dying soon after.

The greatest obstacle to their work is the drunk-
enness so prevalent among the Indians. They
indulge in frequent drunken orgies, during which
the missionaries are annoyed and insulted, their rest
destroyed, and even their lives threatened. Between
these occurrences, they pursue their labors zealously ;
they have baptized about a hundred persons, includ-
ing, of course, many children. Pierron goes to
Albany to visit the English, who are now masters of
the Hudson ; and thence to Quebec, to report to
Courcelles and Talon on the state of affairs among
the Mohawks.

PREFACE TO VOL. LI 17

Bruyas writes, from his station at Oneida, that a
chapel has been built for him also. He has baptized
fifty-four persons, mostly children; the conversions
and pious deaths of some adults are narrated in
detail. Like all the other missionaries, he is greatly
hindered by the licentiousness of the savages, and
their faith in dreams.

At Onondaga, Julien Gamier is in charge. He is
greatly aided by Garakontie, the noted Christian
chief, who erects a chapel for him and then goes to
Quebec to procure fellow-workers for Garnier. The
speech of Garakontie at a council there, and Cour-
celles's reply to him, are given in full. Matters are
arranged to their mutual satisfaction, and two
Jesuits — Carheil and Milet — return with the Onon-
daga chief. These new missionaries are sent to
Cayuga and Onondaga respectively. A colony from
the former tribe have, to escape their enemies, settled
upon the north shore of Lake Ontario ; Bishop Laval
sends two of his priests to care for the spiritual needs
of these people.

The arduous mission to the Ottawas is being car-
ried on by AUouez, Nicolas, and Marquette. They
have baptized eighty persons during the past year.
At and near Tadoussac, Nouvel is continuing the
good work of that mission; "he cannot sufficiently
praise the piety and innocence of those Christian
Savages, who have little more to combat than one
demon — namely, drunkenness, which alone causes
more disorders than all the other demons together.
All who know the savages admit that an Angel can
be made from a Barbarian, if intoxicating liquor be
kept from him." During the past winter, the sale
of liquors to the savages has been rigidly forbidden

18 PREFACE TO VOL. LI

at Tadoussac, which has resulted in great benefits,
not only to them, but to the fur trade which is
carried on there. Nouvel travels up and down the
Saguenay, seeking his scattered flock wherever they
may be hunting. In June, Bishop Laval visits this
church ; he is welcomed most cordially and hospit-
ably by the savages, and administers confirmation to
those who are ready for it — 149 in all.

R. G. T.

Madison, Wis., August, 189Q.

CXXI (concluded)

Relation of 1666-67

Paris: sebastien cramoisy et sebastien

MABRE-CRAMOISY, 1668

Chaps, i.- vii. were published in Volume L. We herewith
give the remainder of the document.

20 LES RELATIONS DES J&SUITES [Vol.51

[80] CHAPITRE VIII.

DE LA MISSION DES OUTAOUACS, KISKAKOUMAC, &

OUTAOUASINAGOUC.

IE ioints icy ces trois nations, parce qu'elles ont
vne mefme langue, qui eft I'Algonqtiine; &
font enfemble vne mefme bourgade, qui cor-
refpond k celle des Tionnontateheronnons, entre
lefquels nous fommes refidents.

Les Outaoiiacs pretendent que la grande riuiere
leur appartient, & qu'aucune nation n'y peut naui-
ger, [81] fans leur confentement; c'eft pour cela que
tous ceux qui vont en traite aux Fran9ois, quoique
fort differents de nation, portent le nom general
Doutaoiiacs, fous les aufpices defquels ils font ce
voyage.

L'ancienne demeure des Outaoiiacs, eftoit vn quar-
tier du Lac des Hurons d'oti la crainte des Iroquois
les a chaflez, & oil fe portent tous leurs defirs comme
^ leur pais, natal.

Ces peuples font fort peu difpofez ^ la foy, parce-
qu'ils font les plus addonnez "k I'ldolatrie; aux
fuperflitions, aux fables, k la polygamie, ^ I'inftabi-
lit6 des mariages, & ^ toute forte de libertinage, qui
leur fait mettre bas toute honte naturelle. Tous ces
obftacles n'ont pas empefcM, que ie ne leur aye
prech6 le nom de lefus-Chrill;, & [82] public I'Euan-
gile dans toutes leurs cabannes, & dans noftre
Chapelle, qui fe trouuoit pleine, depuis le matin

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1666-67 21

[80] CHAPTER VIII.

OF THE MISSION TO THE OUTAOUACS, KISKAKOUMAC,
AND OUTAOUASINAGOUC.

4 4 T GROUP these three nations together because
j[ they have the same tongue, the Algonquin/
and form collectively one village, which cor-
responds to that of the Tionnontateheronnons, among
whom we are dwelling.

* ' The Outaouacs claim that the great river belongs
to them, and that no nation can launch a boat on it
[81] without their consent. Therefore all who go to
trade with the French, although of widely different
nations, bear the general name of Outaouacs, under
whose auspices they make the journey.

" The old home of the Outaouacs was a district on
the Lake of the Hurons, whence the fear of the
Iroquois had driven them, and whither all their long-
ings are directed as to their native land.

" These peoples have very little inclination to
receive the faith, since they are extremely addicted
to Idolatry, superstitions, legends, polygamy, un-
stable marriages, and every sort of licentiousness,
which makes them renounce all natural shame. All
these obstacles did not deter me from preaching to
them the name of Jesus Christ, and [82] proclaiming
the Gospel in all their cabins and in our Chapel.
The latter was filled from morning till night, and
there I gave constant instruction in our Mysteries
and in God's commandments.

22

LES RELA TIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol. 51

iufques au foir, ou ie faifois de continuelles inftru-
c5tions fur nos Myfteres, & fur les commandements

de Dieu.

D6s le premier hyuer, que i'ay paff6 auec eux, i'ay
eu la confolation d'y baptifer enuiron quatre-vingts
Enfans, y compris quelques gar9ons, & filles de huit
"k dix ans, qui par leur affiduit6 ^ venir prier Dieu,
f e font rendus dignes de ce bon-heur ; Ce qui contri-
bue beaucoup au Baptefme de ces Enfans, eft I'opi-
nion, qui eft ^ prefent tres commune, que ces eaux
faeries, non feulement ne caufent pas la mort, comme
on I'a cru autrefois, mais donnent la fant6 aux
malades, & rendent la vie aux moribonds; & [83] de
fait, de tons ces enfans baptifez Dieu n'en a voulu
prendre ^ foy que fix, & a laiff6 les autres pour
feruir de fondement ^ cette nouuelle Eglife.

Pour les Adultes, ie n'ay pas creu en deuoir bap-
tifer beaucoup, parceque leur fuperftition eftant fi
fort enracinee dans leur efprit, met vn puilfant
empefchement k leur conuerfion. De quatre que
i'ay iuge bien difpofez pour ce facrement, la diuine
prouidence a paru bien manifeftemet ^ I'endroit d'vn
pauure malade eloigne de deux lieues de noflre
demeure. Ie ne fcauois pas qu'il fut en cet eftat, &
neantmoins ie me fentois interieurement poufI6 k
Taller voir, nonobftant mon peu de force & de fant6.
Ie donnay done iufque k vn hameau eloign^ de nous
d'vne [84] bonne lieue, oil ie ne trouuay point de
malades ; mais i'y appris qu'il y auoit vn autre hameau
plus loin : nonobftant ma f oiblelTe, ie cru que Dieu
demandoit de moy que ie m'y tranfportaffe; i'y fus
auec bien de la peine, & ie trouuay ce Sauuage mou-
rant, qui ne faifoit plus qu'attendre le Baptefme,

1666-68] RELA TION OF 1666 - 67 23

* * In the first winter that I spent with them I had
the consolation to baptize about eighty Children,
including some boys and girls between eight and ten
years old, who, by their assiduity in coming to offer
prayer to God, showed themselves worthy of this
blessing. A circumstance greatly facilitating the
Baptism of these Children is the belief, now very
common, that those sacred waters not only do not
cause death, as was formerly held, but even give
health to the sick and restore the dying to life.
Indeed, [83] as a matter of fact, of all those children
that were baptized, God was pleased to take to
himself only six, leaving the rest to serve as a
foundation for this new Church.

"As for the Adults, I did not see fit to baptize
many, because their superstitions, being so firmly
rooted in their minds, offer a serious hindrance to
their conversion. Of four whom I considered well
prepared for this sacrament, the divine providence
made itself clearly manifest in the case of one poor
sick man, who lived two leagues from our dwelling.
I knew not that he was in such a state, and yet felt
inwardly prompted, despite my scanty strength and
ill health, to go and see him. Accordingly, I made
my way to a hamlet distant a [84] good league from
us, but found no sick people there. I learned,
however, that there was another hamlet farther on ;
and, notwithstanding my weakness, felt that God
demanded of me that I should repair thither. I did
so with much difficulty, and found that dying Savage
only waiting for Baptism, which I gave him after
the necessary instruction. He was fortunate in hav-
ing shared in the instructions that I gave during the
winter, when he visited our Chapel with the rest ; and

24 LES RELATIONS DES j£:SUITES [Vol.51

que ie luy donnay, apr^s les inftrudtions necellaires :
heureux d'auoir pris part aux enfeignements que ie
faifois pendant I'hyuer, lorfqu'il venois auec les
autres dans noftre Chapelle, & d'auoir merits par fes
foins, que Dieu luy fift mifericorde.

L'eft6 de cette mefme ann^e ie fus occup6 k affifter
particulierement les malades de cette Miffion; i'en
baptifay trois, que ie trouuois en danger, deux def-
quels font morts dans la profefTion du Chriflianifme.
[85] Dieu me conduifoit encore bien a propos dans
les Cabanes, pour conferer Ie Baptefme "k onze enfans
malades, qui n'auoient pas encore I'vfage de raifon,
& dont cinq font allez iouir de Dieu. De dix fept
autres enfans que i'ay baptif^ I'autonne & 1 hyuer
fuiuant, il n'en eft mort qu'vn, qui eft mont^ au Ciel,
pre f que en mefme temps qu'expira vn bon vieillard
aueugle, trois iours apr6s fon Baptefme.

1 666 - 68] RELA TION OF i666 .67 25

in having, by his attention, shown himself deserv-
ing of God's mercy.

" In the summer of that same year I was occupied
chiefly in attending the sick of this Mission; three
whom I found in danger I baptized, and two of them
died in the profession of Christianity. [85] Again
God led me into the Cabins, just in time to confer
Baptism on eleven sick children, who had not yet
the use of their reason ; of these, five have gone to
enjoy God. Of seventeen more children whom I
baptized there, during the autumn and winter follow-
ing, but one died, who ascended to Heaven almost
at the same time when a good old blind man breathed
his last, three days after his Baptism."

26 LES RELATIONS DES J&SUITES [Vol.51

CHAPITRE IX.

DE LA MISSION DES POUTEOUATAMIOUEC.

LES Pouteoiiatami font peuples qui parlent Algon-
quin, mais beaucoup plus nial-aif6 k entendre
que les Outaoiiacs. Leur pais eft dans le Lac
des Ilimoiiek; [86] C'eft vn grand Lac qui n'efloit
pas encore venu ^ noftre connoiffance, attenant au
Lac des Hurons, & kceluy des Puants, entre I'Orient,
& le Midy. Ce font peuples belliqueux, Chafleurs,
& Pefcheurs: leur pais eft fort bon pour le bled
d'Inde, dont ils font des Champs, & oil ils fe retirent
volontiers, pour euiter la famine trop ordinaire en
ces quartiers; lis font idolatres au dernier point,
attachez "k des fables ridicules, & amateurs de la
Polygamic. Nous les auons tous veus icy, au nombre
de trois cents hommes, portans armes. De tous les
peuples que j'ay pratiqu6 en ces contr6es, ils font les
plus dociles, & les plus affedtionnes aux Frangois:
leurs femmes, & leurs filles font plus retenues, que
celles des autres Nations. [87] lis ont entre eux
quelque efpece de ciuilit6, & la font paroiftre aux
eftrangers, ce qui eft rare parmy nos Barbares.
Eftant all6 vne fois voir vn de leurs anciens, il ietta
les yeux fur mes fouliers, faits a la fafon de France ;
la curiofit^ le porta "k me les demander, pour les con-
fiderer k fon ayfe : quand il me les rendit, il ne voulut
iamais me permettre de les chauffer moy mefme,

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1666 - 67 27

CHAPTER IX.

OF THE MISSION TO THE POUTEOUATAMIOUEC.

iiT^HE Pouteouatami are a people speaking the
I Algonquin tongue, but in a dialect much
harder to understand than that of the Outa-
ouacs. Their country lies along the Lake of the
Ilimouek — [86] a large Lake which had not before
come to our knowledge, adjoining the Lake of the
Hurons, and that of the Stinkards, in a Southeasterly
direction. These people are warlike, and they
engage in Hunting and Fishing. Their country is
excellently adapted to raising Indian corn, and they
have Fields covered with it, to which they are glad
to have recourse, to avoid the famine that is only too
common in these regions. They are extremely idola-
trous, clinging to their ridiculous legends, and are
addicted to Polygamy. We have seen them all here,
to the number of three hundred men bearing arms.
Of all the people with whom I have mingled in these
regions, they are the most docile, and the best dis-
posed toward the French. Their wives and daugh-
ters are more modest than those of the other Nations.
[87] They observe among themselves a certain sort
of civility, and also show it toward strangers — which
is rare among our Barbarians. Once when I went
to see one of their elders, his eyes fell upon my shoes,
which were made after the French fashion; and
curiosity moved him to ask leave to take them, in
order to examine them easily. Upon returning them

28 LES RELATIONS DES JASUITES [Vol.51

mais ie fus contraint de fouffrir de luy cet office,
voulant mefme m'attacher iufques aux courroies;
auec les mefmes marques de refpec5t, que tefmoignent
les f eruiteurs k leurs Maiftres, quand ils leur rendent
ce f eruice : eftant ^ mes pieds, voila, me dit-il, comme
nous faifons ^ ceux que nous honorons.

Vne autre fois 1' eftant aller voir, [88] il fe leua
de fa place, pour me la ceder, auec les mefmes
ceremonies, que demande la ciuilite des gens d'hon-
neur.

Ie leur ay annonc6 la Foy publiquement dans le
Confeil general, qui fut tenu peu de iours apres mon
arriuee en ce pais: & en particulier dans leurs
cabanes, pendant vn mois qu'ils refterent icy; & en
fuitte tout I'Automne, & I'Hyuer fuiuant; pendant
lequel temps i'ay baptife trente quatre de leurs
enfans, prefque tous au berceau: & ie dois dire,
pour la confolation de cette Miffion, que le premier
de tous ces peuples, qui a eft6 prendre poffeffion du
Ciel, au nom de tous fes Compatriotes, a efte vn
enfant Pouteouatami, que ie baptifay peu apres mon
arriuee, & qui mourut incontinent apres.

[89] Pendant le mefme Hyuer, i'ay receu kl'Eglife
cinq Adultes ; dont le premier eft vn vieillard age
d'enuiron cent ans, qui paffoit dans I'efprit des Sau-
uages, pour vne efpece de diuinite; il jeunoit vingt
iours de fuitte, & auoit des vifions de Dieu, c'eft 'k
dire felon ces peuples, de Celuy qui a fait la Terre.
II tombe neantmoins malade, & eft affifte dans fon
mal, par deux de fes filles, auec vne affiduit6, & vn
amour au dellus de la port^e des Sauuages. Entre
autres feruices, qu'elles luy rendoient, eftoit de luy

1666 - 1;8] RELA TION OF j666 - 67 29

to me, he would not permit me to put them on my-
self, but obliged me to allow him to perform that
service, — even insisting on fastening the thongs,
and showing the same marks of respect that servants
do to their Masters upon rendering them this service.
Kneeling at my feet, he said to me, ' It is in this
way that we treat those whom we honor.'

" On another occasion when I went to see him,
[88] he arose from his seat to yield it to me, with
the same formalities that politeness demands of
gentlefolk.

" I proclaimed the Faith to them publicly in the
general Council held a few days after my arrival in
this country, and privately in their cabins during
their month's sojourn here, — and afterward through-
out the following Autumn and Winter, during which
I baptized thirty-four of their children, nearly all of
this number being in the cradle. I may say, too,
for the consolation of this Mission, that the first one
of all these people to take possession of Heaven in
the name of all his Countrymen, was a Pouteouatami
child whom I baptized soon after my arrival, and
who died immediately afterward.

[89] " During the same Winter I received into the
Church five Adults, of whom the first was an aged
man, about a hundred years old, who was regarded
by the Savages as a sort of divinity. He was wont
to fast twenty days at a time, and had visions of
God — that is, according to these people, of the
Maker of the Earth. Nevertheless, he fell ill; and
he was attended in his sickness by two of his daugh-
ters, who showed an assiduity and love above the
capacity of Savages. Among other services rendered
him by them was that of repeating to him, in the

80 LES RELATIONS DES J^SUITES [Vol.51

repeter le foir, les inflructions qu'elles auoient enten-
dues pendant le iour, dans noftre Chapelle ; Dieu
voulut fe feruir de leur piete, pour la conuerfion de
leur Pere; car comme ie le fus voir, ie le trouuay
f9auant en nos myfteres, [90] & le Saint- Efprit operant
dans fon coeur, par le miniftere de fes filles, 11 de-
manda auec paffion d'eflre Chreftien. Ce que ie luy
accorday par le Baptefme, que ie ne iugeay pas "k
propos de differer, le voyant en danger de mort.
D^slors il ne voulut point qu'on exer9aft autour de
fa perf onne, aucunes longleries pour fa guerifon ; il
ne vouloit plus entendre parler que du falut de fon
ame; & vne fois comme ie luy recommandois de
prier fouuent Dieu; S9aclie, mon frere, me dit-il,
que continuellement ie jete du petun au feu, difant,
c'eft toy qui as fait le Ciel, & la Terre, que ie veux
honorer. Ie me contentay de luy faire connoiftre,
qu'il n'eftoit pas neceflaire, d'honorer Dieu de cette
fa9on, mais feulement de luy parler de [91] coeur, &
de bouche. En fuitte, le temps eflant venu, auquel
les Sauuages demandent, qu'on accomplilTe leurs
deUrs, par vne ceremonie qui tient beaucoup des
Bachanales, ou du Carnaual ; Noflre bon vieillard fit
faire recherche par toutes les Cabanes, d'vne piece
d'^toffe bleiie ; difant que c'eftoit 1^ fon defir, par-
ceque c'eftoit la couleur du Ciel, auquel, dit-il, ie
veux auoir toujours le coeur, & la penf6e. Ie n'ay
point veu de Sauuage plus preft ^ prier Dieu, que
luy; II repetoit entre autres prieres, celle-cy, auec
vne ardeur extraordinaire. Mon Pere, qui eftes au
Ciel, mon Pere, voftre nom foit fan(5tifie; trouuant
plus de douceur en ces mots, qu'en ceux-cy que ie luy

1666-68] RELATION OF ib66-&7 31

evening, the instructions which they had heard dur-
ing the day in our Chapel. God was pleased to
make use of their piety for their Father's conversion ;
for, when I visited him, I found him versed in our
mysteries, [90] and, the Holy Ghost operating in
his heart through the ministry of his daughters, he
passionately asked to be made a Christian. I granted
his request by Baptizing him — a ceremony which I
did not think it advisable to defer, seeing that he
was in danger of death. Thenceforth, he would not
allow in his presence any Juggler's ceremonies for
his cure ; he would have no conversation, except on
the saving of his soul ; and once, when I was urging
upon him frequent prayer to God, ' Know, my
brother,' said he, 'that I am continually throwing
tobacco into the fire, and saying, " Thou maker of
Heaven and Earth, I would honor thee." ' I con-
tented myself with making him understand that it
was not necessary to honor God in that way, but
merely to speak to him with [91] the heart and the
mouth. Then, the time having come when the Sav-
ages ask the fulfillment of their desires in a ceremony
much resembling the Bacchanalia or Carnival, our
good old man caused search to be made in all the
Cabins for a piece of blue cloth, ^ declaring his wish
therefor because it was the color of Heaven, ' to
which, ' said he, ' I would keep my heart and thoughts
ever directed.' Never have I seen a Savage more
given to prayer than he; among other prayers, he
was wont to repeat the following with unusual
fervor: ' My Father who art in Heaven, my Father,
hallowed be your name,' — finding more sweetness in
those words than in the ones I taught him, ' Our
Father who art in Heaven.' One day, taking thought

32 LES RELA TIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol. 51

fuggerois, Noftre Pere qui eft au Ciel. Se voyant vn
iour [92] fi auance en age, il s'ecria de luy mefme,
dans les fentiments de S. Aiiguflin, c'eft trop tard
que ie vous ay connu, 6 mon Dieu, trop tard que ie
vous ay aime. Ie ne doute point que fa mort, qui ne
tarda pas beaucoup, ne fuft pretieufe aux yeux de
Dieu, qui la fouffert tant d'ann^es dans I'idolatrie, &
luy a referu6 fi peu de iours pour finir fa vie fi
Chreftiennement.

Ie ne dois pas icy obmettre vne cliofe affez furpre-
nante : Ie lendemain de fon trepas, fes parents brul-
lerent fon corps, contre toute la coutume de ce pais,
& Ie reduiOrent tout entier en cendres. Le fuiet eft
vne fable, qui paffe icy pour verit6.

On tient pour certain que le pere de ce vieillard,
eftoit vn Lieure, qui marche I'hiuer fur la neige, &
[93] qu'ainfi la neige, le Lieure, & le vieillard font
de mefme village, c'eft k dire font parents: on
adioufte, que le Lieure dit ^ fa femme, qu'il n'agreoit
pas que leurs enfans demeuraffent dans le fond de
la terre, que cela n'eftoit pas fortable k leur condi-
tion; eux qui efloient parens de la neige, dont le
pais eft en haut, vers le Ciel, que fi iamais il arriuoit,
qu'on les mifl en terre apres leur mort, il prieroit la
neige, qui eft fon parent, de tomber en telle quantite,
& fi long-temps, qu'il n'y euft point de Printemps,
pour punir les hommes de cette faute. Et pour
confirmation de ce recit, on adioufta, qu'il y a trois
ans, que le frere de noftre bon vieillard, mourut au
commencement de I'hyuer, & qu'ayant efte enterre
k Tordinaire, les neiges furent [94] fi abondates, &
I'hiuer fi long, qu'on defefperoit de voir le printemps

1666-68] RELATION OF 1666-67 33

of his [92] extreme old age, he exclaimed of his own
accord, in the sentiments of St. Augustine : ' Too
late have I come to know you, O God, too late have
I come to love you.' I doubt not that his death,
which was not long delayed, was precious in God's
sight, who for so many years left him in idolatry, and
reserved for him so few days for closing his life in
so Christian a manner.

" I must not omit here a rather strange circum-
stance : on the day after his death his relatives, con-
trary to all usage of this country, burned his body and
reduced it entirely to ashes. The cause of this is
found in a legend which passes here for truth.

"It is held beyond dispute that this old man's
father was a Hare, — an animal which runs over the
snow in winter, — and [93] that thus the snow, the
Hare, and the old man are of the same village, — that
is, are relatives. It is further said that the Hare
told his wife that he (jiisapproved of their children's
remaining in the depths of the earth, as that did not
befit their condition — they being relatives of the
snow, whose country is above, toward the Sky; and,
if it ever occurred that they were put into the ground
after their death, he would pray the snow, his rela-
tive, in order to punish the people for this offense,
to fall in such quantities and so long that there
should be no Spring. And, to confirm this story, it
is added that three years ago the brother of our good
old man died, in the beginning of the winter; and,
after he had been buried in the usual manner, snow
fell [94] to such an extent, and the winter was so
long, that people despaired of seeing the spring in
its season. Meanwhile, all were dying of hunger,
and no remedy could be found for this general suffer-

34 LES RELA TIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol. 51

en fa faifon ; & cependant tout le monde mouroit de
faim, fans qu'on peuft trouuer remede k cette mifere
publique. Les anciens s'afTemblent, ils tiennent
plufieurs confeils, le tout en vain, la neige continuoit
toufiours: alors quelqu'vn de la compagnie dit qu'il
fe fouuenoit des menaces que nous auons raconte;
incontinent on va deterrer le mort, on le brufle, &
auffi-toft la neige celTe, & le printeps luy fucceda.
Qui croiroit que des hommes puffent adioufter foy ^
des chofes fi ridicules? & cependant on les tient pour
des Veritas inconteftables.

Noflre bon vieillard n'eft pas feul de fa Maifon ^
qui Dieu a fait mifericorde ; fes deux filles qui ont [95]
efl6 caufe de fon falut, ont fans doute efte attirees par
fes prieres dans le Ciel; car I'vne eflant frapee d'vn
mal qui ne dura que cinq iours, Dieu conduifit mes
pas fi k propos pour fon bon-heur eternel, que ne
m'eftant pu rendre chez elle, que le foir auant fa
mort, i'eu le loifir de la difpofer au faint Baptefme,
qu'elle recent, pour aller en fuitte auec fon bon pere,
I'accompagner dans la gloire qu'elle luy auoit pro-
cur^e. L'autre fille a furuefcu k I'vn & ^ I'autre, &
a comme herite leur piet^, i'ay trouu6 cette femme li
fage, fi modefte & fi affedlionn^e ^ la foy, que ie n'ay
point doute de I'admettre dans I'Eglife, par la parti-
cipation des facrements; Toute la famille de ce bon
neophyte, qui eft nombreufe, fe reffent de cette
bont6, qui femble leur eftre naturelle. [96] lis ont
tous de la tendreffe pour moy, & par vn refpedt qu'ils
me rendent, ils ne m'appellent pas autrement que
leur oncle. I'efpere que Dieu fera a tous miferi-
corde, car ie les vois enclins k la priere au delTus du
commun des Sauuages.

1 666 - 68] RELA TION OF i666 -67 35

ing. The elders assembled, and held many councils,
but all in vain; the snow still continued. Then
some one of the company said he remembered the
threats which we have related. Straightway they
went and disinterred the dead man, and burned him ;
when immediately the snow ceased, and spring fol-
lowed.^ Who would think that people could give
credence to such absurd stories? And yet they re-
gard them as true beyond dispute.

" Our good old man was not the only one of his
House to whom God showed mercy. His two daugh-
ters, who were [95] the cause of his salvation, were
undoubtedly drawn to Heaven by his prayers; for,
one of them being seized with an ailment which
lasted but five days, God guided my steps so fortu-
nately for her eternal happiness that, although I
could not reach her until the evening before her
death, I had leisure to prepare her for holy Bap-
tism,— which she received in time to go and bear
her good father company in the glory which she had
obtained for him. The third daughter, surviving
both the others, seems to have inherited their piety.
I found this woman so discreet, so modest, and so
well disposed toward the faith, that I did not hesitate
to admit her into the Church through partaking of
the sacraments. The entire family of that good
neophyte — and it is a large one — feel the effects of
this goodness, which seems natural to them. [96]
They all have a tender regard for me, and, from a
feeling of respect which they bear me, call me by no
other name than 'uncle.' I hope that God wall
show mercy to all of them, for I see them more
inclined to prayer than is usual among Savages.

" We can also relate, among the marvels that God

36 LES RELATIONS DES jtSUITES [Vol.51

Nous pouuons encore raconter parmy les merueilles
que Dieu a oper6es en cette Eglife, ce qui s'eft paffe
h regard d'vne autre famille de cette nation. Vn
ieune homme, dans le canot duquel i'etlois embarque,
venant en ce pais; fut atteint du mal courant &
contagieux, fur la fin de I'hyuer; ie tafchay de luy
rendre autant de charity qu'il m'auoit fait de mal en
chemin, Comme il eftoit affez confiderable, on n'ef-
pargna aucune forte de iongleries pour le guerir, &
I'on en fit tant, qu'enfin on me vint dire qu'on luy
[97] auoit tire du corps deux dents de Chien; ce n'eft
pas cela, leur dis-je, qui caufe fon mal, mais bien le
fang pourri qu'il a dans le corps; car ie iugeois qu'il
auoit la pleurefie : cependant ie me mis k I'inftruire
tout de bon, & le lendemain, I'ayant trouue bien
difpofe, ie luy donnay le faint Baptefme auec le nom
d'Ignace, efperant que ce grand Saint confondroit le
malin efprit, & les longleurs. De fait, ie le fis
feigner, & montrant le fang au longleur qui eftoit Ik
prefent: voila luy dis-je, ce qui tue ce malade, tu
deuois luy auoir tir6 tout ce fang corrompu par toutes
tes fimagrees, & non pas des dents de chien fuppo-
fees: Mais luy s'eflant apperceu du foulagement que
cette feign^e auoit caufe au malade, voulut auoir la
gloire de fa guerif on ; & pour cela luy fit [98] prendre
vne efpece de Medecine, qui cut vn Q malheureux
effet, que le Patient demeura trois heures durant
comme mort. On en fait le cry public par tout le
Bourg, & le longleur bien furpris de cet accident,
confeffe qu'il a tue ce pauure homme, & me prie de
ne le pas abandonner. II ne fut pas de fait delaiff^
de fon Patron faint Ignace, qui luy rendit la vie, pour
confondre les fuperftitions de ces Inddelles.

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1666 - 67 37

has wrought in this Church, what happened in regard
to another family of this nation. A young man, in
whose canoe I had a place on my journey to this
country, was seized, toward the close of the winter,
with the contagious disease that was prevalent. I
tried to show him as much kindness as he had shown
me ill usage on the journey. As he was a man of
considerable importance, no kind of jugglery was
spared for his cure ; and it was carried so far that at
length they came to tell me that they [97] had ex-
tracted from his body two Dog's teeth. ' That is not
what causes his illness,' said I to them, ' but rather
the tainted blood which he has in his body,' — for I
judged that he had the pleurisy. Meanwhile, I
began to instruct him in good earnest; and on the
next day, finding him well prepared, I gave him
holy Baptism with the name of Ignace, hoping that
great Saint would confound the evil spirit and the
Jugglers. Indeed, I bled him; and, showing the
blood to the Juggler, who was present, ' There,' said
I to him, 'is what is killing this sick man. Thou
shouldst, with all thy affected arts, have drawn from
him every drop of this corrupt blood, and not some
alleged dog's teeth.' But he, perceiving the relief
which this bleeding had afforded the sick man, deter-
mined to have the glory of his cure; and, to that
end, made him [98] take a kind of Medicine, which
produced such an ill effect that the Patient remained
for three whole hours as one dead. This result was
proclaimed throughout the Village, and the Juggler,
much surprised by the turn of affairs, confessed that
he had killed the poor man, and begged me not to
forsake him. He was not, in truth, forsaken by his
Patron, saint Ignatius, who restored him to life, in

38 LES RELATIONS DBS /^SUITES [Vol.51

Ce ieune homme n'efloit pas encore gueri, que fa
foeur tomba malade du mefme mal. Nous eumes
plus d'acc6s pour nos fondtions, veu ce qui s'eftoit
paffe "k regard de fon frere, & j'eu toute la commodity
de la difpofer au Baptefme; & outre cette grace, la
fainte Vierge, dont elle portoit le nom, luy obtint la
fant6.

[99] Mais k peine eftoit-elle hors de danger, que
le mefme mal fe prit ^ leur coufln, dans la mefme
Cabane ; il me parut plus dangereufement malade, que
les deux autres ; ce qui me fit hafter de luy admi-
niflrer le Baptefme, apres les inflrudtions neceffaires.
II fe portoit d6ja mieux, en vertu de ce Sacrement ;
quand fon pere s'aduifa de faire vn feftin, ou plutofl
vn facrifice au Soleil, pour luy demander la fante de
fon fils. le furuiens au milieu de la ceremonie, &
m'eftant jette au col de mon malade Neophyte, pour
luy faire voir, qu'il n'y auoit que Dieu, qui fufl
maiftre de la vie & de la mort, il fe reconnut auffi
toft, & fatisfit k Dieu, par le Sacrement de Penitence;
mais m'adreffant k fon Pere, & h. tons les Sacrifica-
teurs, [100] c'eft "k prefent, leur dis-je, que ie defef-
pere de la fante de ce malade, puifque vous auez eu
recours k d'autres, qu'^ celuy qui a entre les mains,
la vie, & la mort. Vous auez tu^ ce pauure homme,
par voftre impiete, ie n'en efpere plus rien. II
mourut en effet, quelque temps apres, & i'efpere que
Dieu aura accepte fa mort temporelle, pour penitence
de fa faute, afin de ne le pas priuer de la vie eternelle,
qu'il aura obtenue par les interceffions de faint
I o s E p H , dont il portoit le nom.

Le gain eft plus affeur6 du coft^ des Enfans, def-
quels j'en ay baptife dix-fept, fur la fin de cette

1666-68J RELATION OF 1666-67 39

order to confound the superstitions of these Infidels.

" This young man was not yet cured when his
sister fell ill of the same disease. We enjoyed
greater freedom in the discharge of our functions, in
view of what had occurred in her brother's case, and
I had every opportunity to prepare her for Baptism ;
and besides that grace, the blessed Virgin, whose name
she bore, procured her recovery.

[99] ' ' But hardly was she out of danger when the
same disease seized her cousin, in the same Cabin.
He appeared to me more dangerously ill than the two
others had been, which made me hasten to Baptize
him, after the necessary instruction. He was already
feeling better, in consequence of this Sacrament,
when his father took it into his head to make a
feast, — or, rather, a sacrifice to the Sun, — to ask the
latter for his son's recovery. I came upon them in
the midst of the ceremony, and hastened to embrace
my sick Neophyte, and convince him that God alone
was the master of life and death. He immediately
acknowledged his error, and made atonement to
God by the Sacrament of Penance; but I, addressing
his Father and all the Sacrificers, [100] said to them:
* I despair now of this patient's recovery, since you
have had recourse to others than him who has in
his hands both life and death. You have killed this
poor man by your impiety, and I give up all hope
for him.' He died, in fact, some time afterward; and
I trust that God may have accepted his temporal
death as penance for his offense, so that he will not
deprive him of the everlasting life which this man
will have obtained by the intercessions of saint
Joseph, whose name he bore.

" The gain is more assured in regard to Children,

40 LES RELATIONS DBS J^SUITES [Vol.51

Miffion, que ie fus oblig^ de terminer par le depart
de ces peuples, qui apres auoir recueilli leur bled-
d'lnde, fe retirerent en leur pais, [loi] & en partant,
m'inuiterent auec grande inftance, d'aller chez eux au
Printemps fuiuant. Que Dieu foit ^ iamais glorifi^
dans I'efprit de ces pauures Barbares, qui I'ont enfin
reconnu; eux, qui de tout temps, ne connoilloient
aucune diuinite, plus grande que le Soleil.

1666-68] RELATION OF 1666-67 41

of whom I baptized seventeen toward the close of
this Mission, which I was forced to bring to an end
by the departure of these people, as they returned
to their own country after harvesting their Indian
corn. [loi] On taking leave, they gave me a very
pressing invitation to visit them in the following
Spring. May God be forever glorified in the minds
of those poor Barbarians, who have at last acknowl-
edged him, after recognizing, from the earliest times,
no divinity greater than the Sun."

42 LES RELATIONS DES j£SUITES [Vol.51

CHAPITRE X.

DE LA MISSION DES OUSAKIOUEK [& DES] OUTAGA-

MIOUEK.

IE ioins en fuitte ces deux nations, parcequ'elles
font melees, & alli^es anec les precedentes, &
d'ailleurs elles ont mefme langage, qui eft
Algonquin, quoi que beaucoup different en diners
Idiomes, ce qui donne bien de la peine ^ les en-
tendre; Neantmoins [102] apres quelque trauail, ils
m'entendent a prefent, & ie les entens fuffifamment
pour leur inftrudtion.

Le pais des Outagami eft du cofte du Sud, vers le
Lac des Ilimouek: ce font peuples nombreux, d'en-
uiron mil hommes portans armes, chaffeurs & guer-
riers; ils ont des champs de bled d'Inde, & demeurent
en vn pais fort auantageux, pour la chaffe du Chat
fauuage, du Cerf, du Boeuf fauuage, & du Caftor.
lis n'ont point I'vfage du Canot, & font d'ordinaire
leurs voyages par terre, portant fur leurs efpaules,
leurs pacquets, & leur chaffe. Ces peuples font
adonnez h. I'idolatrie autant que les autres nations.
Vn iour entrant dans la Cabane d'vn Outagamy, ie
trouuay fon pere & fa mere dangereufement malades,
& [103] luy ayant dit qu'vne faign^e les gueriroit, ce
pauure homme prend du petun reduit en poudre, &
m'en iette fur ma robbe de tons coftes, me difant:
Tu es vn genie, prends courage, rends la fante k ces
malades, ie te fais facrifice de ce petun : que fais-tu

1666 - 68J RELA TION OF 1666 - 67 43

CHAPTER X.

OF THE MISSION TO THE OUSAKIOUEK AND OUTAGA-

MIOUEK.

( ( T NEXT add these two nations because they are
Y mingled with and allied to the preceding,
and have, besides, the same language, the
Algonquin, — although differing greatly in various
Idioms, a fact which makes it very difficult to under-
stand them. Nevertheless, [102] after some labor
on my part, they understand me now, and I under-
stand them, sufiSciently for their instruction.

' ' The country of the Outagami lies Southward
toward the Lake of the Ilimouek. They are a popu-
lous tribe, of about a thousand men bearing arms,
and given to hunting and warfare. They have fields
of Indian corn, and live in a country offering excel-
lent facilities for the hunting of the Wildcat, Stag,
wild Ox, and Beaver. Canoes they do not use, but
commonly make their journeys by land, bearing
their packages and their game on their shoulders.
These people are as much addicted to idolatry as the
other nations. One day, on entering the Cabin of
an Outagamy, I found his parents dangerously ill ;
and [103] when I told him that bleeding would cure
them, the poor man took some powdered tobacco and
sprinkled it completely over my gown, saying to
me: ' Thou art a spirit; come now, restore these
sick people to health; I offer thee this tobacco
in sacrifice.' 'What art thou doing, my brother?'

44 LES RELATIONS DES J&SUITES [Vol.51

mon frere, luy dis-je? ie ne fuis rien, c'eft celuy qui
a tout fait, qui eft le maiftre de nos vies, ie ne fuis
que fon feruiteur. Et bien repliqua t-il, en repen-
dant du petun k terre, en leuant les yeux en haut,
c'eft done k toy qui as fait le Ciel & la terre, que
i'offre ce petun, donne la fante k ces malades.

Ces peuples ne font pas bien alien6s de reconnoiftre
le Createur du monde ; car ce font eux qui m'ont dit,
ce que i'ay defla rapport^, qu'ils reconnoillent en
leur pais, vn grand genie, qui a fait le Ciel & la [104]
terre, & qui demeure vers le pais des Fran9ois. On
dit d'eux ; & des Oufaki, que quand ils trouuent vn
homme k I'^cart, & ^ leur auantage, ils le tuent, fur
tout fi c'eft vn Fran9ois, dont ils ne peuuent fuppor-
ter la barbe. Cette forte de cruaut6 les rend moins
dociles, & moins difpofez k I'Euangile que les
Pouteouatami. Ie n'ay pas pourtant laiffe de publier
I'Euangile ^ pr6s de fix vingts perfonnes qui ont pafle
vn eft6 icy. Ie n'en ay point trouue parmy eux qui
fuffent aflez bien difpofez pour le Baptefme. Ie I'ay
confere neantmoins k cinq de leurs enfans malades,
qui ont enfuitte recouur^ la fant^.

Pour les Oufaki, on pent les appeller Sauuages
pardeffus tous les autres : Ils font en grand nombre,
mais errants & vagabonds dans les [105] forefts, fans
auoir aucune demeure arreftee. Ten ay veu pr6s
de deux cents, & leur ay public "k tous la foy, & ay
baptife dix huit de leurs enfans, ^ qui les eaux
faeries ont efte falutaires pour I'ame & pour le corps.

1666-68] RELATION OF 1666-67 45

said I ; ' I am nothing, but he who made all things
is the master of our lives, while I am but his servant.'
' Well, then,' he rejoined, scattering some tobacco
on the ground, and raising his eyes on high, ' to thee,
then, who madest Heaven and earth I offer this
tobacco. Give these sick persons health.'

" These people are not very far removed from the
recognition of the Creator of the world ; for it is they
who told me what I have already related, — name-
ly, that they acknowledge in their country a great
spirit, the maker of Heaven and [104] earth, who
dwells toward the country of the French. It is said
of them and of the Ousaki that, when they find a
man alone and at a disadvantage, they kill him,
especially if he is a Frenchman; for they cannot
endure the beards of the latter people. Cruelty of
that kind makes them less docile, and less inclined
to receive the Gospel, than are the Pouteouatami.
Still I failed not to proclaim it to nearly six-score
persons, who passed a summer here. I found none
among them sufficiently well prepared for Baptism,
though I conferred it on five of their sick children,
who then recovered their health.

" As for the Ousaki, they above all others can
be called Savages. They are very numerous, but
wandering and scattered in the [105] forests, without
any fixed abode. I have seen nearly two hundred
of them, to all of whom I have published the faith,
and have baptized eighteen of their children, to
whom the sacred waters were salutary for both soul
and body."

46

LES RELA TIONS DES JJ^SUITES [Vol. 51

CHAPITRE XI.

DE LA MISSION DES ILIMOUEC, OU ALIMOUEK.

LES Ilimoiiec parlent Algonquin, mais beaucoup
different de celuy de tons les autres peuples.
le ne les entends que bien peu, pour n'auoir
que bien peu couerf^ auec eux. lis ne demeurent
pas en ces quartiers ; leur pais eft k plus de f oixante
lieues d'icy, du cofl6 du Midy, au de Ik d'vne grande
riuiere, qui fe decharge, autant que ie [io6] puis con-
iedturer, en la Mer, vers la Virgin[i]e. Ces peuples
font chaff eurs & belliqueux ; ils f e feruent de Tare &
de la fleche, rarement du fufil, & iamais du canot.
C'eftoit vne nation nombreufe diftribu6e en dix
grands Bourgs; mais k prefent ils font reduits k
deux; les guerres continuelles auec les Nadouefli
d'vn cofl6, & les Iroquois de I'autre, les ont prefque
exterminez.

lis reconnoifCent plufieurs genies aufquels ils font
facrifice ; ils pratiquent vne forte de dance, qui leur
efl toute particuliere, ils I'appellent la dance de la
pipe k prendre tabac, voicy comme ils la font. Ils
preparent vne grande pipe, qu'ils ornent de pan-
naches, & la pofent au milieu de la place, auec vne
efpece de veneration ; vn de la compagnie fe leue, fe
met k dancer, [107] & puis cede fa place k vn fecond,
celuy cy k vn troifj^me, & ainfi confecutiuement
danfent les vns apres les autres, & non pas enfemble.
On prendroit cette danfe comme vn balet en pofture,

1666-68] RELATION OF 1666-67 47

CHAPTER XI.

OF THE MISSION TO THE ILIMOUEC, OR ALIMOUEK.

i 4 'T^HE Ilimouec speak Algonquin, but a very
Y different dialect from those of all the other
tribes. I understand them only slightly,
because I have talked with them only a very little.
They do not live in these regions, their country
being more than sixty leagues hence toward the
South, beyond a great river — which, as well as I
[106] can conjecture, empties into the Sea somewhere
near Virginia. These people are hunters and war-
riors, using bows and arrows, rarely muskets, and
never canoes. They used to be a populous nation,
divided into ten large Villages; but now they are
reduced to two, continual wars with the Nadouessi
on one side and the Iroquois on the other having
well-nigh exterminated them.

" They acknowledge many spirits to whom they
offer sacrifice. They practice a kind of dance, quite
peculiar to themselves, which they call ' the dance
of the tobacco-pipe.' It is executed thus: they pre-
pare a great pipe, which they deck with plumes, and
put in the middle of the room, with a sort of venera-
tion. One of the company rises, begins to dance,
[107] and then yields his place to another, and this
one to a third; and thus they dance in succession,
one after another, and not together. One would
take this dance for a pantomime ballet; and it is
executed to the beating of a drum. The performer

48 LES RELATIONS DES JASUITES [Vol.51

qui fe fait au fon du tambour. II fait la guerre en
cadence; il prepare fes armes, il s'abille, il court, il
fait la decouuerte, puis fe retire, il s'approclie, il fait
le cry, il tue I'ennemy, luy enleue la cheuelure, &
retourne chantant vidloire : mais tout cela auec vne
iuftefTe, vne promptitude, & vne a(5tiuit6 furprenante.
Apr^s qu'ils ont tous danfe I'vn apr6s I'autre au tour
de la pipe, on la prend, & on la prefente au plus
confiderable de toute I'aiTembl^e, pour petuner, puis
^ vn autre, & ainfi confecutiuement k tous; voulans
fignifier par cette ceremonie, ce qu'en [io8] France
on veut dire, quand on boit en mefme verre. Mais
de plus on laiffe la pipe entre les mains du plus
honorable, comme vn depoft facre, & vn gage alleure
de la paix, & de I'vnion, qui fera toufiours entre eux,
tant qu'elle demeurera entre les mains de cette
perfonne.

Parmy tous les genies, a qui ils prefentent des
facrifices, ils honorent d'vn culte tout particulier, vn
genie plus excellent, difent-ils, que les autres, parce-
que c'efl luy qui a fait toutes chofes. lis ont cette
paffion de le voir, & pour cela ils font de longs ieunes,
efperant que par ce moyen, Dieu fe prefentera ^ eux,
pendant leur fommeil; s'il arriue, qu'ils I'ayent veu,
ils fe tiennent heureux, & s'efliment alleur^s de viure
long temps.

Toutes les nations du Sud ont [109] ce mefme fou-
hait de voir Dieu ; ce qui eft fans doute vn grand
auantage pour leur conuerfion; car il ne refle plus
qu'^ les inftruire de la fa9on dont on le doit feruir
pour le voir & eftre heureux.

I'ay icy publie le nom de lefus-Chrifl, k quatre-
vingt perfonnes de cette nation, & elles I'ont porte, &

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1666 -67 49

makes war in rhythmic time, preparing his arms,
attiring himself, running, discovering the foe, rais-
ing the cry, slaying the enemy, removing his scalp,
and returning home with a song of victory, — and
all with an astonishing exactness, promptitude and
agility. After they have all danced, one after the
other, around the pipe, it is taken and offered to the
chief man in the whole assembly, for him to smoke ;
then to another, and so in succession to all. This
ceremony resembles in its significance the [108]
French custom of drinking, several out of the same
glass; but, in addition, the pipe is left in the
keeping of the most honored man, as a sacred trust,
and a sure pledge of the peace and union that will
ever subsist among them as long as it shall remain in
that person's hands.

" Of all the spirits to whom they offer sacrifice,
they honor with a very special worship one who is
preeminent above the others, as they maintain,
because he is the maker of all things. Such a pas-
sionate desire have they to see him that they keep
long fasts to that end, hoping that by this means God
will be induced to appear to them in their sleep ;
and if they chance to see him, they deem themselves
happy, and assured of a long life.

" All the nations of the South have [109] this same
wish to see God, which, without doubt, greatly facil-
itates their conversion ; for it only remains to teach
them how they must serve him in order to see him
and be blessed.

" I have proclaimed the name of Jesus Christ here
to eighty people of this nation, and they have
carried it and published it with approbation to the
whole country of the South ; consequently I can say

50 LES RELATIONS DES JASUITES [Vol.51

publie "k tout le pais du Sud, auec applaudifTement : en
forte que ie peux dire que cette Miffion eft celle, ou
i'ay le moins trauaille, & ou il fe trouue plus d'effet.
lis honorent chez eux noftre Seigneur, en leur fagon,
dont ils mettent 1' Image que ie leur ay donnee, au
lieu le plus confiderable, quand ils font quelque
celebre feftin; & alors le Maiftre du banquet,
s'adrefTant ^ cette Image, c'eft en ton honneur, 6
Homme-Dieu, [no] luy difent-ils, que nous faifons
ce feftin, c'eft k toy que nous prefentons ces viandes.

I'aduoue que c'eft Ik ou me paroifl le plus beau
champ pour I'Enangile. Si i'euffe eu le loifir, & la
commodite, i'aurois donne iufques chez eux, pour
voir de mes yeux, tout le bien qu'on m'en raconte.

Ie trouue tous ceux que i'ay pratiques, affables
& humains, & Ton dit que quand ils rencontrent
quelque eftranger, ils font vn cry de ioye, le careflent,
& luy rendent tous les temoignages d'amiti6 qu'ils
peuuent. Ie n'ay baptife qu'vn enfant de cette
nation: les femeces de la foy, que i'ay iettees dans
leurs ames porteront leurs fruits, quand il plaira au
maiftre de la vigne les cueillir. Leur pais eft chaud,
& ils font du bled d'Inde deux fois I'ann^e. [i 1 1] II
y a des ferpents a fonnette, qui les font fouuent
mourir, faute d'en f9auoir le contrepoifon. Ils font
grand cas des medicaments, aufquels ils prefentent des
facrifices comme 'k de grands genies: ils n'ont point
cli[e]z eux de foreft, mais bien de grandes prairies,
oil les boeufs, les vaches, les cerfs, les ours, & les
autres animaux paiffent en grand nombre.

1666-68] RELATION OF 1666-67 51

that this Mission is the one where I have labored
the least and accomplished the most. They honor
our Lord among themselves in their own way, put-
ting his Image, which I have given them, in the
most honored place on the occasion of any important
feast, while the Master of the banquet addresses it
as follows: ' In thy honor, O Man-God, [no] do we
hold this feast; to thee do we offer these viands.'

" I confess that the fairest field for the Gospel
appears to me to be yonder. Had I had leisure and
opportunity, I would have pushed on to their coun-
try, to see with my own eyes all the good things
there of which they tell me.

" I find all those with whom I have mingled affable
and humane; and it is said that whenever they meet
a stranger, they give a cry of joy, caress him, and
show him every possible evidence of affection. I
have baptized but one child of this nation. The seeds
of the faith which I have sown in their souls will
bear fruit when it pleases the master of the vine to
gather it. Their country is warm, and they raise
two crops of Indian corn a year, [m] There are
rattlesnakes there, which cause many deaths among
them, as they do not know the antidote. They hold
medicines in high esteem, offering sacrifice to them
as to great spirits. They have no forests in their
country, but vast prairies instead, where oxen, cows,
deer, bears, and other animals feed in great numbers. ' '

52 LES RELA TIONS DES JESUITES [Vol. 51

CHAPITRE XII.

DE LA MISSION DES NADOUESIOUEK.

CE font peuples qui habitent au Couchant d'icy,
vers la grande riuiere, nommee Meffipi. lis
font "k quarante ou cinquante lieues d'icy, en
vn pais de prairies, abondant en toute forte de chafle ;
[112] ils ont des champs, auf quels ils ne fement pas
de bled-d'Inde, mais feulement du petun; la Proui-
dence les a pourueus d'vne efpece de feigle de marais,
qu'ils vont cueillir vers la fin de TEft^, en certains
petits Lacs, qui en font couuerts. ils le fcauent 11
bien preparer, qu'il eft fort agreable au gouft, & bien
nourriffant: ils m'en prefenterent, lorfque i'eftois k
r extremity du Lac Tracy, ou ie les vis. lis ne fe
feruent point de fufils, mais feulement de Tare & de
la fleche, qu'ils tirent auec vne grande adreffe. Leurs
Cabanes ne font pas couuertes d'6corces; mais de
peaux de Cerfs bien paff^es, & coufues fi adroitement
que le froid n'y paffe pas. Ces peuples font, par
defTus tons les autres, fauuages & farouches. lis
paroilTent interdits & immobiles [113] en noftre pre-
fence, comme des fkatues. lis ne laiHent pas d'eftre
belliqueux, & ont porte la guerre fur tons leurs voi-
fins, dont ils font extremement redoutez. ils parlent
vne langue entierement eftrangere, les Sauuages
d'icy ne les entendent point ; Ce qui m'a oblige de leur
parler par interprete, qui ellant infidelle, ne faifoit
pas ce que i'eulTe bien fouhaite. Ie n'ay pas laiffe

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF t666 -67 53

CHAPTER XII.

OF THE MISSION TO THE NADOUESIOUEK.

4 i T^HESE are people dwelling to the West of
1^ this place, toward the great river named
Messipi,* They are forty or fifty leagues
from this place, in a country of prairies, rich in all
kinds of game. [112] They cultivate fields, sowing
therein not Indian corn, but only tobacco; while
Providence has furnished them a kind of marsh rye
which they go and harvest toward the close of Sum-
mer in certain small Lakes that are covered with it.
So well do they know how to prepare it that it is
highly appetizing and very nutritious. They gave
me some when I was at the head of Lake Tracy,
where I saw them. They do not use muskets, but
only bows and arrows, with which they shoot very
skillfully. Their Cabins are not covered with bark,
but with Deerskins, carefully dressed, and sewed
together with such skill that the cold does not enter.
These people are, above all the rest, savage and
wild, — appearing abashed and as motionless [113]
as statues in our presence. Yet they are warlike,
and have conducted hostilities against all their neigh-
bors, by whom they are held in extreme fear. They
speak a language that is utterly foreign, the Savages
here not understanding it at all. Therefore I have
been obliged to address them through an interpreter,
who, being an infidel, did not accomplish what I
might well have wished. Still I succeeded in wrest-

54 LES RELATIONS DES J^SUITES [Vol.51

d'enleuer au demon vne ame innocente de ce pais 1^.
C'efloit vn petit enfant qui s'en alia en Paradis pen
apr6s que ie I'eus baptife; A folis ortu vfque ad occa-
fum laudabile nomen Domini. Dieu nous donnera quel-
que occafion, pour y annoncer fa parole, & glorifier
fon faint Nom, lorfqu'il plaira k fa diuine Majelt6
faire mifericorde k ces peuples. lis font prefque au
bout [114] de la terre, ainfi qu'ils parlent. Plus loing
vers le Soleil couchant, il y a des nations nomm6es
Karezi, au de la defquelles, la terre eft coupee difent-
ils, & Ton ne voit plus qu'vn grand Lac, dont les
eaux font puantes: C'eft ainfi qu'ils nomment la Mer.
Entre le Nord & le Couchant, fe trouue vne nation
qui mange la viande crue, fe contentant de la tenir ^
la main, & la pref enter au feu. Au de Ik de ces
peuples, fe voit la Mer du Nord. Plus en de9a font
les Kiliftinons, dont les riuieres fe dechargent dans
la Baye de Hutfton; D'ailleurs nous auons connoif-
fance des Sauuages qui habitent les quartiers du
Midy, iufqu'k la Mer. En forte qu'il ne refte que
pen de terre, & peu d'hommes, a qui I'Euangile ne
foit pas annonc6e, fi [115] nous adiouftons foy, h. ce
que les Sauuages, nous en ont par plufieurs fois
raporte.

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1666 - 67 55

ing from the demon one innocent soul of that coun-
try,— a little child, who went to Paradise soon after
I had baptized it. A solis ortu usque ad occasum lauda-
bile nomen Domini. God will give us some opportu-
nity to announce his word there, and glorify his holy
Name, when it shall please his divine Majesty to show
mercy to those people. They are well-nigh at the
end [114] of the earth, so they say. Farther toward
the setting Sun there are nations named Karezi, —
beyond whom, they maintain, the earth is cut off, and
nothing is to be seen but a great Lake whose waters
are ill-smelling, for so they designate the Sea.

" Toward the Northwest there is a nation which
eats meat uncooked, being content to hold it in the
hand and expose it to the fire, while beyond these
people lies the North Sea. On this side are the
Kilistinons, whose rivers empty into Hutston's Bay.
We have, besides, some knowledge of the Savages
inhabiting the regions of the South, as far as the Sea;
so that only a little territory and few people are left
to whom the Gospel has not been proclaimed — if
[115] we credit the reports often given us by the
Savages."

66 LES RELATIONS DES j£SUJTES [Vol.51

CHAPITRE XIII.

DE LA MISSION DES KILISTINOUC.

LES Kiliftinouc ont leur demeure plus ordinaire
fur les cofles de la Mer du Nord : ils nauigent
fur vne Riuiere qui va fe decharger dans vne
grande Baye, que nous iugeons bien probablement
celle qui eft marquee dans la Carte, auec le nom du
Hutfon; Car ceux que i'ay veu de ce pais, m'ont
rapporte qu'ils ont eu connoiffance d'vn Nauire; &
vn vieillard entr'autres me dit qu'il I'auoit veu luy
mefme, k I'entree de la Riuiere des Affinipoiialac,
peuples allies [ii6] des Kiliftinouc, dont le pais eft
encore plus au Nord.

II m'adioufta, qu'il auoit aufTi veu vne Maifon que
les Europeans auoient faite en terre ferme, de
planches, & de pieces de bois; qu'ils tenoient entre
les mains des Liures, comme celuy qu'il me voyoit, en
me racontant cela. II me parla d'vne autre nation,
qui eft ioignant celle des Affinipoiialac, laquelle
mange les hommes, & ne vit que de chair criie : mais
auffi ces peuples font reciproquement mangez par des
Ours d'vne horrible grandeur, tous roux, & qui ont
les ongles prodigieufement longs; on iuge bien
probablement que ce font des Lyons.

Pour les Kiliftinouc, ils me paroiffent extremement
dociles, & ont vne bonte, qui n'eft pas commune
[117] k ces Barbares. lis font beaucoup plus errants
que toutes les autres nations. lis n'ont point de

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1666-67 57

CHAPTER XIII.

OF THE MISSION TO THE KILISTINOUC.

i 4 'T^ HE Kilistinouc have their usual abode on the
Y shores of the North Sea, and their canoes
ply along a River emptying into a great
Bay, which we think is, in all probability, the one
designated on the Map by the name of Hutson.
For those whom I have seen from that country have
told me that they had known of a Ship ; and one of
their old men declared to me that he had himself seen,
at the mouth of the River of the Assinipoualac, some
peoples allied [116] to the Kilistinouc, whose country
is still farther Northward.

" He told me further that he had also seen a House
which the Europeans had built on the mainland, out
of boards and pieces of wood; and that they held
Books in their hands, like the one he saw me holding
when he told me this. He made mention of another
nation, adjoining the Assinipoualac, who eat human
beings, and live wholly on raw flesh ; but these
people, in turn, are eaten by Bears of frightful size,
all red, and with prodigiously long claws. It is
deemed highly probable that they are Lions.

" Concerning the Kilistinouc, they appear to me
extremely docile, and show a kindness uncommon
[117] among these Barbarians. They are much more
nomadic than any of the other nations, having no
fixed abode, no fields, no villages; and living wholly
on game and a small quantity of oats which they

68 LES RELATIONS DES jASUITES [Vol.51

demeure fixe, point de champs, point de villages,
lis ne viuent que de chaffe, & d'vn peu d'auoine,
qu'ils vont ramaffer dans des lieux marefcageux ; lis
font idolatres du Soleil, k qui ils prefentent ordinaire-
ment des facrifices, attachant vn chien au haut d'vne
perche, qu'ils laiffent ainfi pendu, iufques k ce qu'il
foit corrompu;

Ils parlent prefque mefme langue, que ces peuples
nommez autrefois Poiffons-blancs, & les Sauuages de
Tadouffac ; Dieu me fait la grace de les entendre, &
d'eftre entendu d'eux fuffifamment pour leur inftruc-
tion: iamais ils n'auoient entendu parler de la Foy,
& la nouueaut6, auec la docilite de leurs efprits,
[ii8] me les rendoit tres attentifs; lis m'ont promis
de ne rendre plus leurs hommages qu'au Createur du
Soleil & du monde; Cette vie errante, & vagabonde
qu'ils menent, m'a fait retarder le Baptefme de ceux
que ie voyois les plus difpofez, & ne I'ay confer^
qu'^ vne fille nouuellement n^e.

I'efpere que cette Miffion produira quelque iour
des fruits correfpondants aux trauaux qu'on prendra,
quand nos Peres iront hyuerner auec eux, comme il[s]
font k Quebec, auec les Sauuages de Tadouffac. lis
m'y ont inuit^, mais ie ne puis pas me donner tout
aux vns, en priuant tant d'autres du fecours que ie
leur dois, comme eftant les moins ^loignez d'icy, &
les plus difpofez ^ I'Euangile.

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1666 -67 59

gather in marshy places. They pay idolatrous
worship to the Sun, to which they are wont to offer
sacrifice by fastening a dog to the top of a pole and
leaving it thus suspended until it rots.

" They speak nearly the same tongue as do the
people formerly called Poissons-blancs, and as the
Savages of Tadoussac. By the grace of God I under-
stand them, and they me, sufficiently for their instruc-
tion. They had never heard of the Faith, and this
novelty, together with their docility of tempera-
ment, [118] made them very attentive to me. They
have promised me to render homage henceforth only
to the Creator of the Sun and of the world. The
wandering and vagrant life which they lead made
me postpone Baptizing those whom I saw to be best
prepared, and I only baptized a new-born girl-baby.

" I hope this Mission will some day bear fruit com-
mensurate with the labors which will be bestowed
upon it when our Fathers go and winter with the
people, as they do with the Savages from Tadous-
sac, at Quebec. They have invited me thither, but
I cannot give myself wholly to some while depriving
so many others of the succor I owe them, as being
the nearest to this place and the best fitted to receive
the Gospel."

60 LES RELATIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol.51

[119] CHAPITRE XIIII.

DE LA MISSION DES OUTCHIBOUEC.

LES Fran9ois les appellent les fauteurs, parceque
leur pais eft le fault, par laquel le Lac Tracy
fe decharge dans le Lac des Hurons. lis par-
lent r Algonquin ordinaire & font faciles h. entendre;
ie leur ay public la Foy k diuerfes rencontres, mais
fur tout ^ r extremity de noftre grand Lac, oil ie
demeuray auec eux vn mois entier pendant lequel
temps, ie les inftruifis de tous nos myfteres, & bapti-
fay vingt de leurs enfans, & vn adulte malade, qui
mourut le lendemain de fon Baptefme, allant porter
au Ciel les premices de fa nation.

1666-68] RELATION OF 1666-67 61

[119] CHAPTER XIIII.
OF THE MISSION TO THE OUTCHIBOUEC.

4 4 'T^ HEY are called sautetirs by the French, be-
1^ cause their abode is the sault [rapids] by
which Lake Tracy empties into the Lake of
the Hurons. They speak the common Algonquin,
and are easily understood. I have proclaimed the
Faith to them on various occasions, but especially
when I sojourned with them at the head of our great
Lake for a whole month. During that time, I
instructed them in all our mysteries ; I also baptized
twenty of their children, and an adult who was
sick; this man died on the day after his Baptism,
bearing to Heaven the first-fruits of his nation."

62 LES RELATIONS DES j£SUITES [Vol.51

[20 i.e., I20] CHAPITRE XV.

DE LA MISSION DES NIPISSIRINIENS, & DU VOYAGE
DU PERE ALLOUES AU LAC ALIMIBEGONG.

LES Nipiffiriniens ont autrefois eft6 inflruits par
nos Peres qui demeuroient dans le pais des
Hurons. Ces pauures peuples, dont bon
nombre eftoient Chrefliens, ont eft^ contraints par les
Incurfions des Iroquois, de fe refugier iufques dans
le Lac Alimibegong, qui n'eft qu'k cinquante ou
foixante lieues de la Mer du Nord.

Depuis pr6s de vingt ans, ils n'ont veu ny Pafteur,
ny entendu parler de Dieu: i'ay cru que ie deuois
vne partie de mes trauaux ^ cette ancienne [121]
Eglife, &qu'vn voyage que ie ferois en leur nouueau
pais, feroit fuiui des benedictions du Ciel.

Ce fut le fixiefme iour de May de cette ann6e 1667.
que ie montay en Canot auec deux Sauuages, qui me
deuoient feruir de condudteurs pendant tout ce
Voyage: En chemin faifant, ayant rencontr6 vne
quarentaine de Sauuages de la Baye du Nord, ie
leur portay les premieres nouuelles de la Foy;
dequoy ils me remercierent auec quelque ciuilit6.

Le dixfeptieme, continuans noflre Voyage, nous
trauerfons vne partie de nollre grand Lac, nageans
pendant douze heures fans quitter I'auiron de la
main. Dieu m'afUfte bien fenfiblement, car n'eftant
que trois dans noftre Canot, il m'eft neceffaire de
ramer de toutes mes forces, [122] auec les Sauuages,

1666-68] RELATION OF 1666-67 63

[2oi.e., I20] CHAPTER XV.

OF THE MISSION TO THE NIPISSIRINIENS, AND FATHER
ALLOUES'S JOURNEY TO LAKE ALIMIBEGONG.

i i 'TPHE Nipissiriniens formerly received instruc-
Y tion from our Fathers who sojourned in the
country of the Hurons. These poor peo-
ple, many of whom were Christians, were compelled
by the Incursions of the Iroquois to flee for refuge
even to Lake Alimibegong [Nipigon], only fifty or
sixty leagues from the North Sea.

' ' For nearly twenty years they have neither seen
a Pastor nor heard the name of God. I thought that
I ought to bestow a part of my labors on that old-
time [i2i] Church, and that a journey undertaken to
their new country would be attended with Heaven's
blessings.

" On the sixth day of May of this year, 1667, I
embarked in a Canoe with two Savages to serve me
as guides, throughout this Journey. Meeting on
the way two-score Savages from the North Bay, I
conveyed to them the first tidings of the Faith, for
which they thanked me with some politeness.

" Continuing our Journey, on the seventeenth we
crossed a portion of our great Lake, paddling for
twelve hours without dropping the paddle from the
hand. God rendered me very sensible aid; for, as
there were but three of us in our Canoe, I was
obliged to paddle with all my strength, [122] together
with the Savages, in order to make the most of the

64 LES RELA TIONS DES JESUITES [Vol. 51

pour ne rien perdre du calme, fans lequel nous ferions
en grand danger, eftant tous 6puifez de trauail & de
nourriture ; nonobftant quoy nous couchafmes le f oir
fans fouper, & le iour fuiuant, nous nous contentons
d'vn fobre repas de bled d'Inde auec de I'eau, car les
vents & la pluye empefchoient nos Sauuages de
mettre leur rets a I'eau.

Le dixneufuieme, eftans inuitez par le beautemps,
nous faifons dix huit lieues, ramants depuis la pointe
du iour, iufques apr^s Soleil couche, fans relafche, &
fans debarquer.

Le vingtieme, n'ayans rien trouu6 dans nos rets,
nous continuons noftre chemin, en 6crafant entre nos
dents quelques grains de bled fee. Le iour d'apres,
Dieu nous rafraichit [123] de deux petits poiffons,
qui nous rendirent la vie. Les benedidtions du Ciel
augmenterent le iour fuiuant ; car nos Sauuages firent
fi bonne pefche d'efturgeon, qu'ils furent contraints
d'en laiffer vne partie fur le bord de I'eau.

Le vingt-troifi6me, cofkoyans les riues de ce grand
Lac, du coft6 du Nord, nous allons d'Ifle en Ifle, qui
font fort frequentes; il y en a vne longue du moins
de vingt lieues, ou Ton trouue des pieces de cuiure,
qui eft iug^ vray cuiure rouge, par les Fran9ois qui
en ont fait icy I'experience.

Apr^s auoi'r bien chemine fur le Lac, enfin nous le
qui'ttons le vingt-cinquieme de ce mois de May, &
nous nous jettons dans vne Riuiere, pleine de rapides
& de faults, en fi grand nombre que nos [124] Sau-
uages mefmes n'en pouuoient plus; & ayant appris
que le Lac Alimibegong efloit encore gei^, ils prirent
volontiers le repos de deux iours auquel la neceffit^
les obligeoit.

1 666 - 68] RELA TION OF i666 -67 65

calm, without which we would have been in great
danger, — utterly spent, as we were, with toil and
lack of food. Nevertheless, we lay down supperless
at nightfall, and on the morrow contented ourselves
with a frugal meal of Indian corn and water ; for the
wind and rain prevented our Savages from casting
their net.

"On the nineteenth, invited by the beautiful
weather, we covered eighteen leagues, paddling
from daybreak until after Sunset, without respite
and without landing.

" On the twentieth, finding nothing in our nets,
we continued our journey, munching some grains of
dry corn. On the following day, God refreshed us
[123] with two small fishes, which gave us new life.
Heaven's blessings increased on the next day, our
Savages catching so many sturgeon that they were
obliged to leave part of them at the water's edge.

' ' Coasting along the Northern shore of this great
Lake on the twenty-third, we passed from Island to
Island, these being very frequent. There is one, at
least twenty leagues long, where are found pieces of
copper, which is held by the Frenchmen who have
examined it here to be true red copper.

" After accomplishing a good part of our journey
on the Lake, we left it on the twenty-fifth of this
month of May, and consigned ourselves to a River,
so full of rapids and falls that even our [124] Savages
could go no farther; and learning that Lake Alimi-
begong was still frozen over, they gladly took the
two days' rest imposed upon them by necessity.

" As we drew near our journey's end, we occasion-
ally met Nipissirinien Savages, wandering from their
homes to seek a livelihood in the woods. Gathering

66 LES RELATIONS DES j£SUJTES [Vol.51

A mefure que nous approchions du terme, nous
faifions de temps en temps, rencontre de quelques
Sauuages Nipiffiriniens, qui s'ecartent du lieu de leur
demeure, pour chercher ^ viure dans les bois; En
ayant ramafle vn affez bon nombre, pour la Fefte de
la Pentecofte, ie les preparay par vne longue inftru-
dtion, k entendre le faint facrifice de la Meffe, que ie
celebray dans vne Chapelle de fueillages: ils I'enten-
dirent auec autant de piet6 «& de modeftie, que font
nos Sauuages de Quebec, dans noftre Chapelle de
Sillery; & ce me fut le plus [125] doux rafraifche-
ment que i'aye eu pendant ce Voyage, & qui a
entierement eiruy6 toutes les fatigues pafT^es.

Ie dois icy rapporter vne chofe remarquable, qui
s'eft palT^e il n'y a pas long temps. Deux femmes,
la mere, & la fille, ayants toujours eu recours ^ Dieu
depuis qu'elles ont efte inftruites, & en ayant receu
des fecours continuels & extraordinaires, ont tout
fraichement ^prouue, que Dieu n'abandonne iamais
ceux qui ont confiance en luy. EUes auoient eft6
pri'fes par les Iroquois, & s'eftoient heureufement
6cliappees des feux, & des cruaut^s de ces Barbares:
Mais pen apr6s, elles tomberent vne feconde fois entre
leurs mains, ce qui leur ofta toute efperance de pou-
uoir ^chapper; [126] Neantmoins vn iour fe voyants
feules, auec vn feul Iroquois, qui eftoit reft6 pour les
garder, pendant que les autres eftoient ^ la challe;
la fille dit "k fa mere, que le temps eftoit venu de fe
deffaire de ce garde, pour s'enfuir. Pour cela elle
demande k I'lroquois vn coufteau pour trauailler fur
vne peau de Caftor, qu'elle auoit commandement de
pafler; & en mefme temps, implorant le fecours du
Ciel, elle le plonge dans le fein de I'lroquois; la mere

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1666 - 67 67

together a considerable number of them, for the
celebration of Whitsuntide, I prepared them by a
long instruction for hearing the holy sacrifice of the
Mass, which I celebrated in a Chapel of foliage.
They listened with as much piety and decorum as do
our Savages of Quebec in our Chapel at Sillery ; and
to me it was the [125] sweetest refreshment I had
during that Journey, entirely removing all past
fatigue.

" Here I must relate a remarkable circumstance
which occurred not long ago. Two women, mother
and daughter, who had always had recourse to God
from the time of their instruction, and had received
from him unfailing and extraordinary succor, very
recently learned by experience that God never for-
sakes those who put their trust in him. They had
been captured by the Iroquois, and had happily
escaped from the fires and cruelties of those Barbari-
ans; but had soon afterward fallen a second time
into their clutches, and were, consequently, left with
no hope of escape. [126] Yet one day, when they
found themselves alone with a single Iroquois, who
had remained behind to guard them while the rest
went out to hunt, the girl told her mother that the
time had come to rid themselves of this guard, and
flee. To this end she asked the Iroquois for a knife
to use on a Beaver-skin that she was ordered to
dress; and at the same time, imploring Heaven's aid,
she plunged it into his bosom. The mother, on her
part, arose and struck him on the head with a billet of
wood, and they left him for dead. Taking some
food, they started forth with all haste, and at length
reached their own country in safety.

" We spent six days in paddling from Island to

68 LES RELATIONS DES J£SUITES [Vol 51

fe leue de fon cofl6, & luy decharge vne buche fur la
tefte, & le lailTent pour mort. EUes prennet des
prouilions, fe mettent en diligence en chemin, &
enfin fe rendent heureufement en leur pais.

Nous fumes fix iours k nager d'Ifle en Ifle, pour
chercher quelque [127] iffue, «& enfin apres bien des
detours, nous arriuafmes le troifieme iour de luin, h.
la bourgade des NipilTiriniens. Elle eft compof^e de
Sauuages, la plufpart idolatres, & de quelques anciens
Chreftiens. Fen ay trouu^ vingt entr'autres, qui
faifoient profelTion publique du Chriftianifme. le ne
manquay pas d'employ enuers les vns, & les autres,
pendant quinze iours, que nous re flames chez eux ;
& i'y trauaillay autant, que me le permit ma fant^
ruinee par les fatigues du chemin. I'y ay trouu6
plus de refiftance que par tout ailleurs, k baptifer les
enfans: mais plus le Diable forme d'oppofitions,
plus faut-il s'efforcer ^ le confondre. le crois qu'il
ne fe plaift gueres k me voir faire ce dernier voyage,
qui eft pr6s de cinq cens [128] lieues de chemin, tant
pour aller que pour reuenir, y compris les detours,
que nous auons efte obligez de prendre.

1666-68] RELATION OF 1666-67 69

Island, seeking some [127] outlet; and finally, after
many detours, we reached the village of the Nipissi-
riniens on the third day of June. It is composed of
Savages, mostly idolaters, with some Christians of
long standing. Among them I found twenty who
made public profession of Christianity. I did not lack
occupation with both classes during our two weeks'
sojourn in their country, and I worked as diligently
as my health, broken by the fatigues of the journey,
allowed. I found more resistance here than any-
where else to infant baptism ; but the more the Devil
opposes us, the more must we strive to confound him.
He is hardly pleased, I think, to see me make this
latest journey, which is nearly five hundred [128]
leagues in length, going and coming, including the
detours we were obliged to make."

70 LES RELATIONS DES J^SUITES [Vol.51

CHAPITRE XVI.

RETOUR DU PERE CLAUDE ALLOUES A QUEBEC, & SON
DEPART POUR REMONTER AUX OUTAOUACS.

PENDANT les deux ann^es, que le Pere Alloiies
a demeure parmy les Outaoiiacs, il a pris
connoifTance des fa9ons de faire, de toutes les
nations qu'il a veues, & a foigneufement efludi^ les
moyens qui peuuent faciliter leur conuerfion. II y a
de r employ pour vn bon nombre de MilTionnaires,
mais il n'y a pas dequoy les faire fubfifter ; On y vit
d'efcorces d'arbres, vne [129] partie de I'ann^e, vne
autre partie d'arreftes de poiffon broy^es, & le refte
du temps, de poiffon ou de bled-d'Inde, quelquefois
peu, & quelquefois en affez grande quantity. Le
Pere a appris par fon experience, que les fatigues
eftans grandes, les trauaux continuels, «& la nourri-
ttire tres-petite, vn corps mefme de bronze n'y pent
pas refifter; Que pour ce fujet, il eft neceflaire,
d'auoir fur les lieux des hommes de courage, & de
piet6, qui trauaillent ^ la fubfiftance des Miffion-
naires, foit par la culture de la terre, foit par I'in-
duftrie de la pefche ou de la chaffe ; qui y faffent
quelques logements & y dreffent quelques Cbapelles,
pour donner de la veneration ^ ces peuples, qui n'ont
iamais rien veu de plus beau, que leurs cabanes
d'efcorces.

[130] Dans ces veues, le Pere fe refolut de venir
luy mefme "k Quebec, pour trauailler k I'execution de
ces deffeins.

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF i66b - 67 71

CHAPTER XVI.

FATHER CLAUDE ALLOUES COMES BACK TO QUEBEC,
AND SETS OUT ON HIS RETURN TO THE OUTAOUACS.

DURING Father AUoues's two years' sojourn
among the Outaouacs, he took note of the
customs of all the nations that he saw, and
carefully studied the means for facilitating their
conversion. There is work there for many Mis-
sionaries, but nothing for them to subsist on. For
a [129] part of the year the people live on the bark of
trees; during another portion, on ground fish-bones;
and the rest of the time, on fish or Indian corn —
sometimes in small quantities, and sometimes in
considerable abundance. The Father has learned by
experience that, the fatigues being great, the labors
unremitting, and the food very scanty, even a body
of bronze cannot withstand all this; and that it is
therefore necessary to have on the spot some men of
courage and piety to work for the Missionaries'
maintenance, either by tilling the soil or by skill in
fishing or hunting. They should also erect buildings
for lodging, and Chapels — in order to inspire venera-
tion in those peoples, who have never seen anything
finer than their own bark cabins.

[130] To this end the Father determined to come
to Quebec in person, and exert himself for the
realization of these plans.

He arrived here on the third day of August of this
year, 1667; and, after a stay of two days only, he

72 LES RELATIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol, 61

II y arriua le troifi(^me iour d'Aouft de cette ann^e
1667. & apr^s y auoir feiourn6 deux iours feulement;
il fit telle diligence, qu'il fe mit en eftat de partir de
Mont-real, auec vne vingtaine de canots de Sauuages,
auec lefquels il efloit defcendu, & qui I'attendoient
en cette Ifle Ik, auec grande impatience.

Son equipage eftoit de fept perfonnes, le Pere
Louys Nicolas, auec luy, pour trauailler conioindte-
ment k la conuerfion de ces peuples ; & vn de nos
freres, auec quatre hommes, pour s' employer fur les
lieux k leur fubfiftance. Mais Dieu a voulu que le
fucces de cette [131] entreprife ne corefpondifl pas
aux beaux delTeins qu'on auoit; car quand il a eft6
queftion de monter le Canot, les Sauuages fe font
trouuez en fi mauuaife humeur, que les feuls Peres,
auec vn de leurs hommes, y ont trouue place ; mais fi
depourueus de viures, d'habits, & de toutes les autres
chofes necellaires a la vie, qu'ils auoient prepar^es,
& qu'on ne piit embarquer, qu'on doute raifonnable-
men[t] s'ils pourront paruenir iufques au pais; ou y
eftans paruenus, s'ils y pourront fubfifter long temps.

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1666 -67 73

was ready, so diligent had lie been, to start from
Mont-real with a score of canoes of the Savages, —
with whom he had made the descent, and who were
awaiting him on that Island with great impatience.
His party consisted of seven persons — Father
Louys Nicolas and himself, to labor in unison for the
conversion of those people ; and one of our brethren,
with four men, to be employed at the scene of action
for their maintenance. But it was God's will that
the success of this [131] undertaking should not
equal the fine plans that were entertained ; for when
it came to embarking, the Savages were found to be
in such ill humor that only the Fathers, with one of
their men, were given places in the Canoes, They
were, too, so poorly provided with food, clothes, and
all the other necessaries of life which they had
prepared, and which could not find conveyance, that
there is reasonable doubt whether they can reach
the country; or, if they do so, of their ability to
maintain themselves there very long.

74 LES RELATIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol.51

CHAPITRE XVII.

DE LA MISSION DE3 PAPINACHIOIS & DE CELLE DU

LAC SAINT lEAN.

LES Miffions des Papinachiois, & des Sauuages du
Lac S. lean [32 i.e., 132] vers TadoulTac, ont
eu tous les fucc6s qu'on pent defirer: le Pere
Henry Nouuel, qui en eft le Pafteur, a pafle vne par-
tie de I'Hyuer auec ceux-cy, & de I'Efte auec les
autres. II a baptif e leurs enfans au nombre de vi[n]gt
fept, & a cultiue ces Eglifes errantes auec bien de la
ioye, les voyant palTer leur vie dans les bois, auec
tant de piet6, & d' innocence.

Entre plufieurs chofes extraordinaires & dignes de
remarque, qui fe font paffees dans ces Miffions, je
n'en rapporte que deux, qui montrent les foins pater-
nels, que la Diuine prouidence prend du falut eternel
& temporel de ces pauures Sauuages.

L'vne eft touchant vn Neophite Papinachois, a qui
la crainte de I'lroquois auoit arracli6 du coeur, la [133]
fidelite, qu'il deuoit a fon Baptefme. II fe laifia per-
f uader, que s'il confultoit le Demon par fes anciennes
iongleries, il fe rendroit imprenable ^ fesennemys:
II le fait; & comme les premieres f antes ne font pas
ordinairement feules, il adioufta le concubinage k fon
infidelite. Mais il ne fut pas long-temps fans rellen-
tir le remords que deux peches de cette nature doiuent
produire. C'eftoit vn ennemy domeftique, qui luy
donnoit plus de peine incomparablement, que celle

1666-68] RELATION OF 1666-67 75

CHAPTER XVII.

OF THE MISSION TO THE PAPINACHIOIS, AND THAT
AT LAKE SAINT JOHN.

THE Missions to the Papinachiois and to the
Savages of Lake St. John, [32 i.e., 132] near
Tadoussac have met with all the success that
could be desired. Father Henry Nouvel, their Pastor,
has spent a part of the Winter with the latter people,
and of the Summer with the others, — baptizing their
children, to the number of twenty-seven ; and cherish-
ing those wandering Churches, with much joy at
seeing them pass their lives in the forests so piously
and innocently.

Of several extraordinary and noteworthy occur-
rences in these Missions I shall relate but two, which
show the fatherly care exercised by the Divine provi-
dence over the welfare, both eternal and temporal,
of those poor Savages.

One has to do with a Papinachois Neophyte, from
whose heart fear of the Iroquois had wrested the
[133] fidelity which he owed to his Baptism. He
allowed himself to be persuaded that if he consulted
the Demon, with his old-time jugglery, he would
make himself invincible to his enemies. He did so,
and as first offenses are seldom left without company,
he added concubinage to his infidelity; but, before
long, he began to feel the remorse sure to follow two
sins of such a nature. It was a domestic enemy,
giving him incomparably more trouble than he had

76 LES RELATIONS DES jASUJTES [Vol.51

qu'il apprehendoit de la part des Iroquois; mais qui
le fit tomber heureufement entre les mains du Pere,
qui le voyant fi fortement touche, le reconcilia ^ Dieu
«fe k I'Eglife.

La guerifon de fon ame fut fuiuie d'vne maladie
corporelle, qui [134] le mit bien bas. Le Demon prit
alors fon temps, & pendant le fort de fon mal, I'atta-
qua Q viuement, que fi le Pere ne fuft furuenu, lors
qu'il ertoit aux prifes auec le malin efprit, il eftoit en
danger de fuccomber. II refifte done 'k toutes fes
attaques, & pour rendre fa vidtoire plus remarquable,
il fait allumer du feu pr6s de foy, & en prefence de
quantite de Sauuages qui eftoient k genoux autour de
luy; y fit letter tons les inftruments Diaboliques,
dont il s'eftoit ferui dans fes iongleries. Alors le
Demon fit vn effort plus grand fur le malade, &
comme s'il euft voulu poffeder fon corps, il luy fit
enfler reftomac, & faire des contorfions de membres
tout extraordinaires. Ces efforts croiffoient ^ mefure
que bruloient ces meubles d'enfer; on [135] prie pour
luy comme pour vn agonifant, & vn Energumene
tout enfemble. Le Demon eft contraint de ceder k
la force des prieres, & d6s le lendemain, le malade
fe trouuant parfaittement gueri, fut caufe par fes
exhortations, de la conuerfion d'vn fien parent, qui
I'ayant imite dans fon infidelity, le fuiuit dans fa
penitence.

La feconde chofe remarquable eft touchant vne
famille de Papinachois, toute Chreftienne depuis
affez longtemps, & compofee de cinq perfonnes feule-
ment. Comme ils eftoient dans les bois, pour cher-
cher ^ viure, ils furent inopinement attaquez par dix
Iroquois. Le mari n'ayant eu que le loifir de prendre

1666-68] RELATION OF 1666-67 77

apprehended from the Iroquois, but causing him
luckily to fall into the Father's hands, — who, seeing
him so deeply moved, wrought his reconciliation
with God and the Church.

The cure of his soul was followed by a bodily
ailment, which [134] reduced him to a sad plight.
Thereupon the Demon seized his opportunity, and
assailed him so vigorously during the height of his
illness that, had not the Father chanced to arrive
when he was struggling with the malign spirit, there
was danger of his yielding. He resisted, then, all
these attacks; while, to render his victory more
notable, he had a fire lighted near him, and, in the
presence of many Savages who were kneeling around
him, caused to be thrown into it all the Diabolical
implements he had used in his jugglery. Then the
Demon assailed the patient still more vigorously;
and, as if determined to take possession of his body,
caused a swelling of his stomach, and the most ex-
traordinary contortions of his limbs. These attacks
increased in intensity, the longer those implements
of hell burned. [135] Prayers were offered for him,
as for a dying man and an Energumen [i.e., demo-
niac] in one. The Devil was compelled to yield to
the force of these prayers, and on the morrow the
sick man found himself entirely cured ; he also suc-
ceeded in converting, by his exhortations, a relative
of his who, having followed his example in his
infidelity, followed it also in his repentance.

The second noteworthy circumstance has to do
with a Papinachois family, converted some time ago
to Christianity, and composed of five persons only.
While they were foraging in the woods, they were
fallen upon unawares by ten Iroquois. The husband

78 LES RELATIONS DBS jASUITES [Vol.51

fur fes efpaules fon fils aifn^, ag^ de hnit ans,
s'enfuit accompagn^ d'vne de fes filles, affez grande
[136] pour le fuiure: La mere fut la proye de ces
vaultours, auec vn enfant k la mamelle.

Cette prife quoique peu confiderable, leur donna
neantmoins fujet de chanter vidloire pendant deux
iours, obligeant cette pauure captiue, felon leur
coutume barbare, k chanter auec eux, pour en faire
leur diuertiffement.

Apres ces premieres refiouilTances, la faim les diffipe
& les contraint de s'efcarter qui gh, qui Ik, pour fe
nourrir plus ayfement par leur chaffe.

Noftre captiue, qui fe voyoit tres eftroittement
garrottee, eftoit inconfolable fur fon malheur, & fur
celuy de fon enfant qu'elle voyoit pleurer entre les
bras d'vn autre Sauuage; quand voyla, que tout d'vn
coup, elle fe vit eleu^e en [137] I'air par vne vertu
inconnue, par laquelle fes liens ayant efte relafchez
au grand eftonnement des fes gardes, elle fut tranf-
portee bien loin, & mife en lieu de feurete; d'oii il
luy fut facile d'aller par terre a I'endroit, oii ils
auoient mis leur Canot en referue; elle s'y embarqua
auflj-toft, & ioignit peu apres fon mari & fes parents.

Le Pere k qui elle a fait tout ce recit, eut de la
peine k la confoler fur la perte de cet innocent, qui
eftoit refte feul entre les mains des Iroquois ; quoy
qu'il luy dift que s'ils le faifoient mourir, ils luy
procureroient vne vie eternellement heureufe, puif-
qu'il eftoit baptife; que s'ils le conferuoient, il y
auoit efperance de le retirer des mains de ces Bar-
bares ; puifque les armes du Roy les auoient obliges
k venir [138] nous rechercher de paix, & qu'elle eftoit
conclue depuis ce temps Ik.

1666-68] RELATION OF 1666-67 79-

had only time to take his eldest son, aged eight, on
his shoulders and flee, accompanied by a daughter
of his who was large enough [136] to follow him.
The mother, with a babe at her breast, fell a victim
to those vultures.

This capture, insignificant although it was, still
caused them to celebrate their victory for two
days, while the poor captive was obliged, according to
their barbarous custom, to sing with them for their
entertainment.

After these first rejoicings hunger scattered them,
compelling them to separate in all directions, in order
the more easily to subsist by hunting.

Our captive, who found herself very tightly bound,
was inconsolable over her misfortune and that of her
child, whom she saw crying in the arms of another
Savage, — when lo! all at once she found herself
borne [137] aloft by an unknown power, by which
her bonds were loosed,, to the great astonishment of
her guards; and she was carried to a great distance,
and set down in a place of safety. Thence it was easy
for her to go by land to the spot where they had left
their Canoe, in which she immediately embarked,
joining her husband and relatives soon after.

The Father to whom she gave this whole account
had difficulty in consoling her over the loss of that
innocent babe, left alone in the Iroquois' hands,
although he told her that, if they killed it, they would
procure it a life of eternal happiness, as it had been
baptized ; and if they spared its life, there was hope
of recovering it from the hands of those Barbarians,
since the King's arms had forced them to come [138]
and ask us for peace, which had been concluded
since the time of her capture.

80 LES RELATIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol.51

CHAPITRE XVIII.

' DU RESTABLISSEMENT DES MISSIONS DES IRO-
QUOIS.

LES expeditions militaires qui furent faites, I'an
paff6, dans le pais des Iroquois, Anniehron-
nons, y ont laiff6 tant de terreur, que ces Bar-
bares font venus, c6t Efte, nous folliciter de la paix,
auec grand emprelTement, & mefme nous ont amen6
quelques-vnes de leurs families, pour feruir d'oftage,
& fe rendre caution de la fidelite de leurs com-
patriotes.

lis repref enterent entr'autres chof es, que tons leurs
defirs eftoient d'auoir chez eux quelques-vns de [139]
nos Peres pour cimenter la paix, & pour imiter ceux
des leurs, qui pendant vne annee de detention ^
Quebec, auoient eft6 inftruits, & dont dix-huit auoient
receu le faint Baptefme.

Monfieur de Tracy, voyant k fes pieds ces barbares
fi humili6s, leur declara qu'encor qu'il puft les miner
entierement, comme ils pouuoient bien le iuger par
la derniere deftru(5tion de leurs Bourgades, il auoit
neantmoins la bonte de leur conferuer leur terre,
mefme leur donner les Peres qu'ils demandoient,
afin que rien ne manquaft k I'affermiffement de la
paix.

On ietta les yeux fur le Pere lacques Fremin, & le
Pere lean Pierron pour les Miffions d'Agni6, & fur
le Pere lacques Bruyas pourcelle d'Onneoiout; trois

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1666-67 81

CHAPTER XVIII.

OF THE REESTABLISHMENT OF THE MISSIONS TO THE

IROQUOIS.

THE military expeditions made, during the past
year, into the country of the Anniehronnon
Iroquois left such terror behind them that
those Barbarians came this Summer to present us a
most earnest petition for peace; and even brought
some of their families to serve as hostages, and be
answerable for their countrymen's good faith.

They declared, among other things, that all their
desires were to have some of [139] our Fathers with
them, to cement the peace, and to enable them to
follow the example of those of their number who
had received instruction during a year's detention at
Quebec, where eighteen of them had been given holy
Baptism.

Monsieur de Tracy, on seeing these barbarians
thus humiliated at his feet, declared to them that,
although it was in his power to bring them to utter
ruin, — as they could well believe from the late
destruction of their Villages, — yet he would have
the goodness to spare their land, and even grant
them the Fathers whom they demanded, in order that
nothing might be wanting to confirm the peace.

Fathers Jacques Fremin and Jean Pierron were
selected for the Agni6 Missions, and Father Jacques
Bruyas for that at Onneoiout; while three other
Fathers [140] held themselves in entire readiness for

82 LES RELATIONS DES j£SUITES [Vol.51

autres Peres fe [140] tenans tons prets pour celles
d'Onnontae, d'Oiogoen & de Sonnontoiian, fi toft que
les deputes de ces nations, fe feront rendus icy pour
ce fuiet, ainfi qu'ils I'ont promis.

Les trois Peres fufdits ayant receu la benedidtion
de Monfieur I'Euefque de Petr^e, toufiours embraz6
d'vn zele tout particulier, pour le falut des Iroquois,
partirent de Quebec dans le mois de luillet dernier,
auec les Ambaffadeurs Annielironnons, & Onneio-
chronnons, & s'eftans rendus au fort de fainte Anne,
^ I'entr^e du Lac Champelain, ils y apprirent qu'vne
troupe de cinquante ^ foixante Mahingans, Sau[ua]-
ges, que 'nous appellons les Loups, eftoient en
embufcade dans le Lac, pour fe letter fur ces Ambaf-
fadeurs Iroquois, contre lefquels ils font en guerre.

[141] Ce fut vn retardement facheux, h. des per-
fonnes qui n'afpiroient qu'apres ces cheres Bour-
gades, pour planter la Foy en ces terres des-ja arrou-
fees du fang des premiers de nos Peres, qui y ont
eft6 ou tourmentez cruellement, ou maffacr^s.

lis furent done arreftez plus d'vn mois en ce
dernier fort, pour donner temps aux ennemis de fe
diffiper: mais ce delay fut inutile; & il fallut
s'expofer au danger euident, commengant ainfi cette
Miffion 6galement perilleufe & laborieufe.

Nous n'auons encor rien apris de ce qui s'y efl
pafie ; mais fi Dieu donne fa benedidtion h. ces entre-
prifes, nous verrons renaiftre les Eglifes Huronnes
& Iroquoifes, que nous auons cultiuees fi long-
temps, [142] & nous n'aurons qu'^ aller recueillir les
fruits des trauaux que nous auons employez pour
I'inftrudtion de ces pauures barbares.

Ce font de nouuelles Miffions, qui s'ouurent de tous

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1666 - 67 83

those at Onnontae, Oiogoen, and Sonnontouan, as
soon as deputies from those nations should come with
a similar request, as they had promised to do.

The three above-named Fathers, after receiving
the blessing of Monsieur the Bishop of Petraea, who
ever burns with extraordinary zeal for the Iroquois'
salvation, set out from Quebec last July with the
Anniehronnon and Onneiochronnon Ambassadors.
Upon reaching fort sainte Anne, at the mouth of Lake
Champelain, they learned that a band of fifty or sixty
Mahingans — Savages whom we call the Loups —
were in ambush on the Lake for the purpose of
attacking these Ambassadors of the Iroquois, with
whom they were at war.

[141] A delay ensued, vexatious to those who were
longing only for those dear Villages, in order to
plant the Faith in that soil already sprinkled with
the blood of our Fathers who first went thither, and
who were either cruelly tortured or murdered there.

They lingered thus for more than a month at this
last fort, to allow the enemy time to disperse ; but
this delay was of no avail, and they were forced to
expose themselves to a manifest danger, entering in
this manner upon that Mission, alike perilous and
arduous.

We have yet learned nothing of what has occurred
there ; but, if God bless these undertakings, we shall
see a new birth of the Huron and Iroquois Churches
which we so long cultivated, [142] and we shall need
only to go and reap the fruits of the labors which
we have expended upon the instruction of those poor
barbarians.

There are new Missions opening in all directions, —
to the East, West, North, and South. We raise our

84 LES RELATIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol.51

coftez, ^ rOrient, ^ I'Occident, au Septentrion, au
Midy. Nous leuons les mains au Ciel, afin qu'il nous
enuoye du fecours, de ces grands coeurs, dignes de
viure dans les trauaux; & d'y mourir, mefme au
milieu des flammes, & des brafiers des Iroquois.
C'efl I'vnique attrait que ie prefente aux ames Apo-
floliques; qu'elles viennent en ce bout du monde, y
r6pandre leurs fueurs, & leur fang, pour le falut de
tant d'ames abandonn^es de tout fecours humain,
depuis la creation du monde ; & pour lef quelles toute-
fois lefus-Chrift a r^pandu fon [143] fang, & a donn6
fa vie, autant que pour les Grecs, & les Remains.
Nous auons ces dernieres annees, receu vn notable
renfort de perfonnes choifies, dont les employs
auroient eft6 affez confiderables en France; mais qui
trouuent en Canada dans vne vie cachee, parmy les
bois, les rochers, & les neiges; parmy la faim, le
fatigues, & I'efpuifement de toutes leurs forces, plus
de confolation en vn iour, qu'ils n'en auoient gouft6
toute leur vie. C'eft vne douce ioye, dans vn heu-
reux abandonnement prefque de toutes cbofes, de
penetrer le fens de ces paroles de I'Apoftre, Mortui
ejiis, & vita vejlra abfcondita eji cum Chrijio, in Deo.
Vous menez vne vie mourante, dans cette vie cacli6e
en Dieu, auec lefus Chrift. C'eft la rof6e du Ciel
que Dieu leur donne: Mais ie [144] ne puis me dif-
penfer de donner aduis k ceux que lefus-Chrift
trouuera dignes de cooperer au falut de tant d'ames
par leurs cliarit6s, qu'il feroit fouhaitable que ces
nouuelles Miffions trouualfent quelques fecours. Ainli
fans quitter la France, on fe rendroit Miffionnaire,
au milieu d'vn pais barbare, pour en faire vn pais
clirell:ien. Fiat fiat.

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1666 - 67 85

hands to Heaven, asking it to send us the succor for
those noble hearts, worthy of a life of toil and of
death therein, even amid the flames and firebrands of
the Iroquois. That is the only allurement I hold
out to Apostolic souls, — that they come to this end
of the world to spend their sweat and their blood for
the salvation of so many souls, bereft of all human
succor from the creation of the world; souls for
whom, nevertheless, Jesus Christ shed his [143]
blood and gave his life, as well as for the Greeks
and Romans. We have this year received a consid-
erable reinforcement of select persons, whose occu-
pations would have been of no mean order in France ;
but who find in Canada — in a life hidden amid
woods, rocks, and snow; in hunger, fatigue, and
complete physical exhaustion — more consolation in
one day than they have tasted in all their lives before.
It is a sweet joy, in a fortunate destitution of nearly
all things, to penetrate^ the sense of these words of
the Apostle : Mortui estis, et vita vestra ahscondita est
cum Christo in Deo, — " You lead a dying life, in this
life which is, with Jesus Christ, hidden in God."
It is dew from Heaven that God gives them. But I
[144] cannot refrain from notifying those whom Jesus
Christ shall find worthy of cooperating, by their
almsgiving, in the saving of so many souls that it
would be desirable for these new Missions to receive
some aid. Thus one would, without leaving France,
become a Missionary in the heart of a barbarous
country, for transforming it into a christian land.
Fiat, fiat.

86 LES RELA TIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol. 51

CHAPITRE DERNIER.

AVANT que de clore cette Relation, i'y ioindray
vn recit tres veritable, & dont les tefmoigna-
ges font publics, qui m'a efte mis en main par
M. Thomas Morel Preftre Miffionnaire, du Seminaire
eftably ^ Quebec par M*" I'Euefque.

[145] REGIT DES MERUEILLES ARRIUEES EN L'EGLISE
DE SAINTE ANNE DU PETIT CAP, COSTE DE BEAU-
PRAY, EN LA NOUUELLE FRANCE.

CE recit porte le nom de merueilles, & non de
miracles, afin de ne contreuenir en rien aux
ordres de la Sainte Eglife, qui deffend de qualifier
ces chofes extraordinaires, de ce nom de miracles,
iufqu'^ ce qu'elle en aye fait le iugement.

Comme Dieu a toufiours choifi quelques Eglifes
fpecialement entre les autres, oil par I'interceffion
de la fainte Vierge, des Anges & des Saints, il ouure
largement le fein de fes mifericordes, & fait quantity
de miracles, qu'il n'opere pas ordinairement ailleurs.
II femble auffi qu'il a voulu choifir en [146] nos iours
I'Eglife de fainte Anne, du petit Cap, pour en faire
vn azile fauorable, & vn refuge affeure aux Chre-
ftiens de ce nouueau monde; & qu'il a mis entre les
mains de cette fainte, vn threfor de graces, & de
benedi(5tions, qu'elle depart liberalement k ceux qui
la reclament denotement en ce lieu. C'eft alleure-
ment pour cette mefme fin, qu'il a imprim6 dans les

1666-68] RELATION OF 1666-67 87

CHAPTER LAST.

BEFORE closing this Relation, I will add a very-
truthful narrative — the proofs of its authen-
ticity are public — which was placed in my
hands by Monsieur Thomas Morel, Mission Priest of
the Seminary established at Quebec by Monseigneur
the Bishop.^

[145] ACCOUNT OF THE WONDERS WROUGHT IN THE

CHURCH OF SAINTE ANNE DU PETIT CAP,

COSTE DE BEAUPRAY, IN NEW FRANCE.

THIS narrative bears the name of " wonders," and
not of "miracles," in order not to transgress
in the least the mandates of the Holy Church, which
forbids us to designate such unusual occurrences
by the name of miracles until it shall have passed
judgment upon them.

As God has always made special choice of some
Churches where, by the intercession of the blessed
Virgin, the Angels, and the Saints, he opens wide
the bosom of his tender mercies, and performs many
miracles which he does not commonly perform else-
where, it seems thus to have been his will to choose
in [146] our time the Church of sainte Anne du petit
Cap, in order to make of it a kindly asylum and an
assured refuge for the Christians of this new world ;
and he seems to have placed in the hands of that saint a
store of grace and blessings which she bestows freely
upon those who devoutly invoke her aid in that place.

88 LES RELATIONS DES jtSUITES [Vol.51

coeurs vne deuotion fmgiiliere, & vne confiance extra-
ordinaire en la protedtion de cette grande fainte ; ce
qui fait que les peuples y recourent dans tous leurs
befoins, & qu'ils en refoiuent des fecours tres figna-
16s, & tres extraordinaires ; comme nous le voyons
dans les merueilles qui s'y font operees depuis fix
ans. Ce n'elt pas mon deffein de les raporter icy
toutes, mais feulement [147] quelques vnes des plus
confiderables, pour fatisfaire k la piet6 des perfonnes
qui I'ont fouliaitt6 de moy. le le fais d'autant plus
volontiers, qu'ayant efte tefmoin oculaire, ou tres
bien informe de ces chofes, ie les diray auec plus de
certitude.

En I'annee 1662. Marie Efter Ramage, agee de 45.
ans, femme d'Elie Godin, de la Paroiffe de fainte
Anne du petit Cap, eftant demeuree depuis dix huit
mois, toute courb6e, en forte qu'elle ne pouuoit
aucunement fe redreffer, & qu'elle eftoit obligee de fe
traifner, comme elle pouuoit, auec fon bafton, fans
efperance de pouuoir iamais recouurer par les remedes
humains fa fante ; f e fouuint de ce que fon mary luy
auoit dit; qu'en fa [148] prefence, Louis Guymond,
de la mefme Paroiffe, auoit elt6 foudainement gueri
d'vne grande douleur de reins, en mettant par deuo-
tion trois pierres, aux fondements de I'Eglife de
fainte Anne, que Ton commenfoit de baftir. Alors
elle reclama la Sainte, la priant de faire fur elle vn
miracle, comme elle auoit fait fur cet homme: k
mefme temps, s'oubliant de fon bafton, qui difparut,
elle fe trouua fur fes pieds toute droitte, marchant
auec autant de facility qu'elle eufl iamais fait; &

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF j666 - 67 89

To promote this same end, undoubtedly, he has filled
people's hearts with a singular devotion, and an ex-
traordinary trust in the protection of that great saint ;
and consequently the people have recourse to her in
all their needs, and receive from her very signal and
unusual succor, — as we see in the wonders wrought
there during the past six years. It is not my purpose
to relate all of them here, but only [147] some of the
more important ones, in order to satisfy the piety of
those who desired this from me. I do it the more
willingly, and shall relate them with the more cer-
tainty, since I was an eye-witness of these occurrences,
or very well informed concerning them.

I.

In the year 1662, Marie Ester Ramage, aged 45
years, wife of Elie Godin*^ of the Parish of sainte
Anne du petit Cap, — after being for eighteen months
all bent so that she could by no means straighten
herself again, and was obliged to drag herself around
as she could with her cane, — hopeless of ever recov-
ering her health by human remedies, remembered
that her husband had told her that in his [148] pres-
ence Louis Guymond, of the same Parish, had been
suddenly cured of a severe pain in the loins, by
laying, in a spirit of devotion, three of the founda-
tion-stones of saint Anne's Church, the building of
which had been begun. Thereupon she invoked the
Saint's assistance, praying her to work a miracle in
her as she had done in that man. At that very
time, — forgetting her cane, which disappeared, — she
found herself quite erect on her feet, walking as
easily as she had ever done. Quite astounded by so
sudden a change, she began to return thanks to saint

90 LES RELA TIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol. 51

toute eilonnee d'vn changement (i fubit, elle com-
mence ^ rendre graces h. fainte Anne, du bien fait
qu'elle venoit de receuoir; & du depuis elle eft reftee
en parfaite fant6. Ce miracle a beaucoup ferui ^
confirmer dans la foy toute cette famille, qui auoit
long [149] temps vefcu dans la religion pretendue
reform^e.

II.

En la mefme ann^e, le 26. de luillet, Fefte de la
glorieufe fainte Anne, Nicolas Droiiin, ag6 de 14.
ans, fils de Robert Droiiin, de la Paroifle du Chafteau
Riche, cofte de Beaupray, eftant afflige du mal caduc,
qui le mettoit fouuent en danger de perir, ou par le
feu, ou dans les eaux, tombant comme mort au lieu
ou il s'en trouuoit furpris, fe voiia h. fainte Anne, &
commenga vne neufuaine en fon honneur, fuiuant le
confeil que ie luy en donnay, & k fes parents, qui me
le demandoient ; & par ce moyen il recouura fa fante ;
& eftant du depuis parfaittement gueri de fon infir-
mity, il continue tous les ans, auec fes parents, de
rendre fes [150] acftions de graces h. fainte Anne, le
iour de fa Fefte, en fon Eglife du petit Cap.

III.

L'ann6e 1664 Margueritte Bire, femme de Mathurin
Roy, habitant de Quebec, s'eftant rompu vne jambe,
& les OS diuifez en quatre, n'ayans peu eftre reunis;
elle eftoit demeur^e eftropiee depuis huit mois, fans
pouuoir aucunement marcher, & fans efperance de le
pouuoir aucunement h. I'aduenir; car tel eftoit le
fentiment des Chirurgiens. C'eft ce qui I'obligea de
recourir h Dieu, auec confiance, par I'interceffion de

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF j666 - 67 91

Anne for the benefit she had just received; and since
then she has remained in perfect health. This
miracle helped greatly to confirm in the faith all
that family, which had long [149] lived in the
pretended reformed religion.

II.

In the same year, on the 26th of July, the Festival
of the glorious saint Anne, Nicolas Drouin, aged 14
years, son of Robert Drouin of the Parish of Chasteau
Rich6, coste de Beaupray, being afflicted with the
falling sickness, which often put him in danger of
perishing either by fire or by water — falling, as he
did, like one dead, wherever he was taken with an
attack, — dedicated himself to saint Anne, and began
a novena in her honor, following the advice I had
given him, as well as to his parents who consulted
me. By this means he recovered his health; and
remaining since then completely cured of his disease,
he continues yearly, with his parents, to render his
[150] thanksgivings to saint Anne on the day of her
Festival, in her Church at petit Cap.

III.

In the year 1664, Margueritte Bire, wife of Mathu-
rin Roy, a resident of Quebec, having broken a leg, —
the bones of which were fractured in four places,
and could not be reunited, — was left a cripple for
eight months without being able to walk a step, and
with no hope of doing so in the future, such being
the opinion of the Surgeons. She was thus con-
strained to have recourse to God, doing so with con-
fidence, through the intercession of saint Anne. To
that end she began a novena, made a general confes-
sion, and, — having taken a vow to visit yearly a

92 LES RELATIONS DES J^SUITES [Vol.51

fainte Anne : Elle commen9a pour c6t effet vne neuf-
uaine, fe confeffa generallement, & ayant fait voeu
de vifiter tous les ans vne Eglife ou Chapelle dediee
en I'honneur [151] de fainte Anne, elle fe fit porter
le iour de fa Fefte en f on Eglife du petit Cap ; ou
affiflant "k la Meffe, elle fe fentit fortifiee au temps
de I'Eleuation; & en fuite quand il fallut aller k la
fainte Communion, elle quitta fes potences, marchant
vers I'Autel: & comme le peuple la vouloit foutenir,
elle dit, j'iray bien toute feule, la bonne Sainte m'a
fortifiee & fait miracle fur moy, graces k Dieu; il y a
huit mois que ie n'en auois autant fait. Depuis ce
temps-la elle ne s'eft plus feruie de potences, & a pu
librement vaquer k fon menage, & elle continue tous
les ans de rendre fon voeu "k Sainte Anne.

IV.

Elie Godin ag6 de cinquante ans, de la Parroiffe
de fainte Anne, eftant malade d'vne hydropifie [152]
form6e, a laquelle les remedes ne pouuoient apporter
aucun foulagement, penfoit k fe difpofer k la mort,
& me fit appellor, pour luy donner le faint Viatique :
alors ie luy dy, qu'il euft recours k la fainte Vierge,
& k fainte Anne; & apres I'auoir difpof^, ie m'en
allay k I'Eglife, dire la fainte MelTe k fon intention;
d'ou reuenant pour le communier, il me dit d'vn
vifage ferain : Monfieur, ie fuis guery, permettez
moy de me leuer; pendant que vous efli^s k I'Eglife,
comme ie difois mon Chappelet, ie me fuis doucement
endormy, & i'ay veu pendant mon fommeil, deux
venerables Dames, qui fe font approch^es de moy, &
dont I'vne tenoit en fa main vne boette, qu'elle a
ouuerte, ou i'ay veu dedans vn chemin fort long, &

1666-68] RELATION OF 1666-67 93

Church or Chapel dedicated in honor [151] of saint
Anne — had herself carried, on the day of the latter's
Festival, to her Church at petit Cap. There, being
present at Mass, she felt herself strengthened at the
moment of the Elevation; and then, when the time
came to go to holy Communion, she laid aside her
crutches and walked to the Altar. When the people
desired to support her, she said: " I shall go very
well alone ; the good Saint has strengthened me and
wrought a miracle in me, thanks be to God. For
eight months I had not w^alked so far." From that
time she has ceased to use crutches, and has been
able to attend to her household work without hin-
drance ; while, every year, she continues to pay her
vows to Saint Anne.

IV.

Elie Godin, fifty years of age, of the Parish of
sainte Anne, being ill of the dropsy [152] in an ad-
vanced stage, for which the usual remedies could
afford him no relief, thought he would prepare for
death, and had me called to give him the holy Viati-
cum. Then I told him to have recourse to the
blessed Virgin and to saint Anne ; and after prepar-
ing him to die, I went away to the Church to say
holy Mass for him. Upon my returning thence to
give him communion, he said to me with a serene
countenance: " Monsieur, I am cured; permit me to
rise. While you were at Church, as I was saying my
Rosary, I fell into a sweet sleep, in which I saw two
venerable Ladies, who approached me. One of them
held in her hand a box, which she opened, and in
which I saw a road, very long and very narrow, [153]
leading to Heaven. At that sight I felt my heart

94 LES RELATIONS DES J^SUITES [Vol.51

fort eftroit, [153] qui conduifoit au Ciel: a cette veiie
ie me fuis trouue tout rempli de confolation, &
tout foulag^ de mon mal. En effet apres la fainte
Communion, il rend graces k Dieu, fe leue, s'en va
^ I'Eglife, & auant que d'auoir aclieu6 fa neufuaine,
il fut en eftat de trauailler, comme auant fa maladie.

V.

lean Adam, ag^ de 23. ans, de Brinon TArclie-
uefque, petite ville au Diocefe de Sens, le 24. de
Mars 1665. fe fentit tout en vn inftant, comme frapp6
de deux coups d'alenes, dans les deux yeux, ne voy-
ant plus que fort peu ; & dans quelques iours deuint
entierement aueugle, & demeura en c6t eftat iufques
au mois de luin, oii il fit voeu de dire neuf fois fon
Rofaire en I'honneur de fainte Anne, d'aller [154]
vifiter fon Eglife du petit Cap : II fit encore vn pareil
voeu "k Notre Dame de Lorette en Italic; apres quoy
il fut conduit "k fainte Anne, ou le Preflre, difant
apres la Mefle I'Euangile de fainte Anne fur luy, il
vit par trois diuerfes fois fort diftindtement, mais
d'vne veue feulement palTagere & momentanee, en
forte toutefois qu'il put aifement difcerner la couleur
des ornements qu'il n'auoit iamais veus, & fe fentit
pouff6 d'vne vine efperace, que trois iours apres, qui
eftoit la fin de fa neufuaine, il recouureroit entiere-
ment la veue; ce qu'il declara hautement, & ce qui
arriua, comme il I'auoit dit: car le troifi^me iour,
lors qu'on difoit pour luy la Melle en I'Eglife du
College des Reuerends Peres de la Compagnie de
lefus "k Quebec, il fentit [155] comme fi on luy eufl
donne derechef deux coups d'alene, dans les deux
yeux, qui ietterent quelques gouttes d'eau, & en fuitte

1666-68] RELATION OF 1666-67 95

overflow with consolation, and I was entirely relieved
of my suffering." As a matter of fact, after holy
Communion he returned thanks to God, rose, and
went to the Church; and, before completing his
novena, he was in a condition to work the same as
before his illness.

V.

Jean Adam, 23 years of age, of Brinon I'Arche-
vesque, a small town in the Diocese of Sens, on the
24th of March, 1665, suddenly felt as if he had been
struck in each eye by a bodkin, after which he saw
only very slightly, and became in a few days
wholly blind. He remained in that condition until
the month of June, when he made a vow to say his
Rosary nine times in honor of saint Anne, and to go
[154] to visit her Church at petit Cap. A like vow
also he made to Our Lady of Lorette in Italy, after
which he was conducted to saint Anne's. There,
while the Priest recited the Gospel of that saint over
him after Mass, he saw three times very distinctly,
but with a vision only temporary and instantaneous,
yet sufficient for him to distinguish easily the color
of the ornaments, which he had never seen ; and he
felt inspired with a strong hope that on the third day
thereafter, which was the last of his novena, he
would recover his sight entirely. He made open
declaration of all this, and the result was as he had
predicted ; for on the third day, while Mass was being
said for him in the College Church of the Reverend
Fathers of the Society of Jesus at Quebec, he felt
[155] as if some one had again sharply struck his
eyes, which shed some drops of water; and then, at
the Elevation, he saw the sacred Host in the Priest's

96

LES RELA TIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol. 51

il apperceut h. I'Eleuation, la fainte Hoftie, entre les
mains du Preftre ; & du depuis il a I'vfage de la veue
plus parfait, qu'il ne I'auoit eu auant c^t accident.

VI.

En Tannic 1667. le 29. de luin, lean Pradere, age
de 22. ans, de la ville & Archeuefche de Thouloufe,
foldat du Regiment de Carignan, eftant frapp6 de
deux infirmitez, dont I'vne eftoit mortelle, & I'autre
incurable, eut pendant vne nuit vn fentiment extra-
ordinaire, & entendit vne voix qui luy dit, que s'il
plaifoit ^ Dieu luy donner la fante, ce feroit vn grand
bien pour luy, de fe donner pour toute fa vie [156]
au feruice des malades de I'Hofpital, ou il eftoit pour
lors; il y confent volontiers, & demeure dans vne
ferme efperance qu'il gueriroit, nonobftant vne
apoftume qu'il auoit dans I'eftomac, qui luy caufoit
vn hocquet, qui ne prefageoit qu'vne mort prompte
& affeuree. En effet on luy donna I'Etreme-ondtion,
iugeant qu'il alloit bien toft raourir : Dieu neantmoins
le deliura de ce premier danger, en pen de temps ;
mais pour le fecond, on luy declara qu'il n'y auoit
aucuns remedes humains h. faire, & qu'il falloit auoir
recours k Dieu, qui feul le pouuoit guerir. Car il
auoit perdu I'vfage, & le fentiment d'vne iambe
depuis £i:K mois; en forte qu'il ne fentoit ny les coups
dont il la frappoit, ny les incifions qu'il y [157]
faifoit, en fe panfant foy-mefme, non plus que £\. elle
euft efte morte. Se voyant en c^t eftat, fans rien
diminuer de fa confiance, il prend refolution d'aller
k fainte Anne du petit Cap, ^ fix lieues de Quebec,
pour y faire vne neufuaine, & obtenir par I'inter-
ceffion de cette glorieufe Sainte, la fant6 qu'il efperoit.

1666-68] RELATION OF 1666-67 97

hands. He has since enjoyed better eyesight than
before that occurrence.^

VI.

In the year 1667, on the 29th of June, Jean Pra-
dere, aged 22 years, of the city and Archbishopric of
Toulouse, a soldier in the Regiment of Carignan, —
being afflicted with two infirmities, one of which was
mortal, and the other incurable, — had an extraordi-
nary feeling throughout one night ; and heard a voice
which said to him that, if it pleased God to give him
his health, it would be a very good thing for him to
devote himself for the rest of his life [156] to the
service of the patients in the Hospital where he then
was. He readily consented to this, and was left with
a firm hope of recovery, despite an aposteme in his
stomach that caused him to hiccough in a manner
ominous of a prompt and sure death. Indeed, he
was given Extreme unction, in the belief that he
would die soon. Nevertheless, God delivered him in
a short time from this first danger; but for the sec-
ond he was told there were no human remedies and
he must have recourse to God, who alone could cure
him. For he had, six months before, lost the use
of, and all sensation in, one leg, so that he felt neither
the blows he struck it, nor cuts which he [157] made
in it when dressing it himself, any more than if it had
been dead. Seeing himself in that condition, with-
out losing any of his trust he determined to go to
saint Anne's at petit Cap, six leagues from Quebec,
and there perform a novena, and recover his hoped-
for health by the intercession of that glorious Saint.
Accordingly he began his novena and his prayers,
suffering great spiritual temptations and pains during

98 LES RELA TIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol. 51

II commence done fa neufuaine & fes prieres, fouffre
de grandes tentations & peines d'efprit, pendant les
premiers iours, iufques au cinquieme, qui eftoit la
fefte des glorieux Apoftres faint Pierre & faint Paul ;
auquel iour eftant au pied de I'Autel de fainte Anne,
il fentit en fa iambe de tres-grandes douleurs, &
notamment tous les coups dont il I'auoit frapp^e,
pendant qu'elle eftoit infenfible; en fuitte il fe laifla
aller comme k vn [158] doux fommeil ; dont reuenant
^ foy, il fe fentit plein d'vne extreme confolation, &
il apperceut fur fa iambe vne fueur dont elle eftoit
tremp^e, & de \k s'exhaloit vne odeur fi fuaue, qu'il
n'auoit iamais rien fenti de pareil, Aufli-toft apr^s
11 voit fa iambe fans aucune humidity, & aufli
parfaitement reftablie, que s'il n'y auoit iamais eu de
mal. II rend graces h. Dieu, & k fainte Anne, de la
faueur qu'il venoit de receuoir par fon intercelTion ;
il quitte fes potences, & marche maintenant auec
autant de facilite, qu'il ait iamais marcli6, non fans
I'admiration de ceux qui connoifloient fon incommo-
dit6, & iugeoient qu'il eftoit aufTi difficile de le guerir,
que de refufciter vn mort; mais I'vn & I'autre eft
facile k Dieu ^ qui rien n'eft impoffible.

[159] Outre les merueilles que ie viens de rap-
porter, il y en a beaucoup d'autres, dont i'ay
connoiffance, & que ie touche feulement en general,
difant que grand nombre de perfonnes s'eftant vou6es
^ fainte Anne, ont efte fecourues miraculeuf ement ;
les vnes ayant euit6 la mort, le Canot s'eftant re[n]-
uerf6 fur eux; les autres ayans fait naufrage dans
des Chalouppes, ceux-cy & ceux Xk fe voyans reduits
dans vn extreme peril de la vie; d'autres ont gueri

1666-68] RELA TION OF 1666-67 99

the first days, until the fifth, — which was the festival
of the glorious Apostles, saint Peter and saint Paul, —
when, as he was at the foot of saint Anne's Altar, he
felt in his leg very severe pains, and especially all
the blows he had struck it during its insensibility.
Thereupon he sank, as it were, into a [158] sweet
sleep; upon awaking therefrom, he felt extremely
comfortable, and discovered a perspiration on his
leg, bathing it and exhaling an odor so sweet that
he had never smelt anj'-thing like it. Immediately
afterward, he saw his leg entirely free from moisture,
and as completely restored as if it had never been
affected. Rendering thanks to God and to saint
Anne for the boon he had just received through the
latter's intercession, he laid aside his crutches, and
now walks as easily as ever — to the astonishment of
those who knew his disease, and who deemed it as
difficult to cure him as to revive a dead man. But
both are easy for God, to whom nothing is impos-
sible.

[159] Besides the marvels I have just related, there
are numerous others known to me, to which I merely
allude in general. I can say that many persons,
on dedicating themselves to saint Anne, have been
miraculously succored, — some escaping death when
their Canoe was overturned upon them, others being
wrecked in Shallops, in both cases finding themselves
confronted by imminent peril of death. Still others
have been cured of divers diseases, in which human
remedies were powerless. Women with child have
experienced extraordinary succor in dangerous deliv-
eries; and children afflicted with grievous ruptures
have been cured. Many find in that place relief in

I

100 LES RELA TIONS DES JESUITES [Vol. 51

de diuerfes maladies, ou les remedes humains eftoient
impuiflants. Les femmes enceintes ont experimente
des fecours extraordinaires dans des couclies danee-
reufes; les enfans affligez de fafcheufes defcentes,
ont eft6 gueris. Pluiieurs trouuent en ce lieu fou-
lagement en leurs infirmitez, y reclamant fainte
Anne auec deuotion [160] & confiance. Ce qui me
paroift neantmoins de plus confiderable parmy toutes
ces faueurs, ce font les graces tres puilTantes que
Dieu a donnas par rinterceffion de cette fainte, ^
plufieurs pecheurs pour leur conuerfion a vne meil-
leure vie. Ayant depuis cinq ou fix ans fait les
fondlions curiales en cette Eglife, i'en ay connu
plufieurs k qui ce bonheur eft arriue ; Mais ces faueurs
fe paffans entre Dieu & I'ame au fecret du coeur,
elles ne fe connoiftront bien que dans I'etemit^.

De fi heureux commencements nous font efperer,
que Dieu par TintercelTion de fainte Anne, comblera
en ce faint lieu de mille benedictions, tout ce
nouueau pais. Plaife 'k fa bont^ que nos pechez
n'en arreftent pas le cours.

FIN.

1666-68] RELATION OF 1666-67 101

their infirmities, when they invoke saint Anne's
assistance devoutly [i6o] and trustfully. But what
seems to me most noteworthy among all these favors
is the very efficient grace that God has given, through
this saint's intercession, to many sinners for their
conversion to a better life. Having for five or six
years discharged the vicarial functions in that Church,
I have known many whom this good fortune befell ;
but, as such favors pass between God and the soul in
the secrecy of the breast, they will only be made
known in eternity.

Such happy beginnings make us hope that God
will, through saint Anne's intercession, crown with a
thousand blessings, on this sacred spot, all this new
country. May it please his goodness not to let our
sins arrest their course.

END.

102 LES RELATIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol.51

Lettre de la Reverende Mere Svperievre

des Religieufes Hofpitalieres de

Kebec en la Nouuelle France.

Du 20. Odobre 1667.

1666 - 68J RELA TION OF 1666 - 67 103

Letter from the Reverend Mother

Superior of the Hospital Nuns

of Kebec in New France.

October 20, 1667.

104 LES RELATIONS DES j£SUITES [Vol.51

[3] Lettre de la Reverende Mere Superieure des

Religieufes Hofpitalieres de Kebec en la

Nouuelle France. Du 20 Odlobre 1667.

A Monfieur * * ^ Bourgeois de Paris.

MONSIEVR,
Noftre Seigneur foit la recompenfe eternelle
de toutes vos charitez. Les premiers vaif-
feaux ne nous ayant point apport6 de vos nouuelles,
nous en eftions toutes fort [4] en peine; nous ne
f9auions k quoy attribuer ce filence, veu que perfonne
ne nous mandoit qu'il put eftre caufe par I'accident que
nous craignons le plus, mais par la grace de Dieu, les
derniers vaiffeaux nous ont tir6 d' inquietude: Nous
auons receu vos Lettres auec vne joye d'autant plus
grande que nous les fouhaittios depuis long-temps ;
Nous auons auffi receu les effets continuels de voftre
Charite ; le vous en rend mil acftions de graces en
mon particulier, & par ma plume mes chers Soeurs &
nos pauures malades vous en remercient tres-humble-
ment, il ne tiendra ny k eux ny ^ nous que vous ne
foyez bien haut dans le Ciel. Si nous pouuions vous
t^moigner nollre gratitude par quelque autre moyen
plus efficace que nos prieres, nous ne perdrions point
d'occafion de vous la faire connoillre. Noftre [5]
Hofpital a efte durant toute cette ann^e remply de
malades a 1' ordinaire, fans ceux qui font furuenus
extraordinairement, ie croy que s'il eftoit plus grand,
nous en aurions encore dauantage : Vous fjauez,

1 666 - 68] RELA TION OF i666 -67 105

[3] Letter from the Reverend Mother Superior

of the Hospital Nuns of Kebec in

New France. October 20, 1667.

To Monsieur 4^. * * , Citizen of Paris.

MONSIEUR,
May Our Lord be the eternal reward for
all your deeds of charity. When the first
vessels failed to bring us word from you, we were
all extremely [4] anxious. We knew not to what to
attribute such silence, as no one had told us that it
could have been caused by the misfortune we most
feared; but, by the grace of God, the latest vessels
relieved us of anxiety- We received your Letters
with a joy all the greater from our having long ex-
pected them. We have also received the unfailing
evidences of your Charity, for which I render you a
thousand thanks for myself, while by my pen my dear
Sisters and our poor patients thank you most hum-
bly. It will be neither their fault nor ours if you
have not a very high place in Heaven. If we could
testify our gratitude to you by some other means
more effective than our prayers, we would lose no
opportunity to prove to you our thankfulness. Our
[5] Hospital has been, during this entire year, full of
regular patients, to say nothing of those who came
unexpectedly and out of the usual course. I believe
if it were larger we would have still more. You
know, Monsieur, that we have a fund only for defray-

106 LES RELA TIONS DES JESUITES [Vol. 51

Monfieur, que nous n'auons du fond que pour de-
frayer vn fort petit nombre de Pauures, & nous en
auons ordinairement cinq ou fix f ois plus ; le Canada
n'efl plus comme il eftoit, il fe peuple beaucoup, &
en mefme temps le nombre des malades s'augmente:
Nous aurions befoin d'vne plus grande maifon: Car
outre que nous n'auons point de place pour loger tant
de perfonnes, nous ne pouuons les feruir comme nous
defirons. Le dernier nauire feul nous a fourny vingt-
quatre hommes & feize fiUes malades, fans ceux des
autres vaiffeaux qui eftoiet des-j^ arriuez, & ceux du
Pais qui [6] viennent tous les jours, nous les rece-
uons tous du mieux que nous pouuons : mais nous ne
ferons point en eftat d'augmenter nollire baftiment
que nous n'ayons vn fond plus confiderable pour
nourrir les Pauures : Car k la ref erue des Charitez que
vous nous procurez, nous n'en rereuons aucune; C'eft
de quoy i'ay fouuent entretenu Monfieur I'lntendant,
qui admire la perfeuerance de voftre bonte pour cette
maifon; Nous fommes tout k fait heureufes de le
poffeder icy, le Roy ne pouuoit pas nous enuoyer vne
perfonne plus capable, & qui eut plus d'affe(5tion pour
uoftre Hofpital : il eft fort perfuad6 auffi bien que
toutes les perfonnes de condition qui font en ce Pais,
que c'eft la chofe la plus vtile que Ton pouuoit faire
en Canada, que d'y eftablir vn lieu pour le foulage-
ment des Pauures [7] malades, ils en font vne expe-
rience continuelle tant pour les foldats que pour toute
autre forte de perfonnes, & quelquefois mefme des
Officiers qui ne trouuent point ailleurs la commodity
d'eftre affiftez dans leurs maladies, s'eftiment bien-
heureux de rencontrer dans noftre maifon tous les
fecours qu'ils peuuent fouhaiter; Car par la grace

1666-68] RELATION OF 1666-67 107

ing the expenses of a very few Poor people, and we
commonly have five or six times as many. Canada
is no longer as it used to be : its population is greatly
increasing, and meanwhile the number of patients
grows. We really need a larger house ; for, besides
our lack of room to lodge so many people, we cannot
serve them as we desire. The latest ship alone
brought us twenty-four men and sixteen girls as
patients, — in addition to those from the other vessels
that had already arrived, and those from this Coun-
try itself, who [6] come daily. We receive them all
as best we can, but we shall be unable to enlarge our
building until we have a more ample fund for main-
taining the Poor ; for, except the Charitable offerings
you obtain for us, we receive none. I have often
talked on this subject with Monsieur the Intendant,
who admires the perseverance with which you con-
tinue your benefactions toward this house. We are
altogether fortunate in having him here; the King
could not have sent us a more capable person or one
more warmly interested in our Hospital. He is
strongly persuaded, as are all persons of quality in
this Country, that the most useful thing one could
have done in Canada was to establish a place for the
relief of Poor [7] sick people. They are constantly
learning this by experience, — in the case both of the
soldiers and of people of every other condition ; and
sometimes even in the case of the Officers who, not
finding elsewhere facilities for attendance during
their illness, count themselves fortunate to find in
our house all the succor they could desire, — for, by
the grace of Our Lord, we try not to refuse our
services to any one. We witness results from this

108 LES RELATIONS DES j£SUITES [Vol.51

de Noftre Seigneur, nous tachons de ne refufer nos
feruices k perfonne, nous en voyons des effets fi peu
attendus, au moins pour le falut des ames, que cela
nous fait ambitionner de n'efpargner ny nos biens fi
nous en anions, ny nos foins & nos trauaux pour le
f oulagement de tout le monde : il ne meurt ou ne fort
aucun de noflre Hofpital fans donner des preuues
d'vne veritable conuerflon; il eft arriue dans le der-
nier vaiffeau vn Huguenot malade, [8] qu'vn chacun
tenoit pour le plus obftine du monde dans fon erreur,
cependant fa maladie I'obligea de fe faire apporter
chez nous, ou il ne fut pas trois jours fans faire
abjuration de fon Herefie; fon mal s'augmentant, il
demanda auec inftance les derniers Sacremens, &
apres auoir receu le Saint Viatique, Monfieur du
Douyt tres-digne EccleCaftique du Seminaire de
Monfeigneur noflre Euefque luy ayant dit qu'il
falloit remercier Dieu des grandes mifericordes qu'il
en auoit receu, il refpondit, qu'il en auoit tant de re-
connoiffance qu'il n'en pouuoit contenir fa joye, que
c'etoit la Sainte Vierge qui luy auoit procure la grace
de fe conuertir, parce que tout Huguenot qu'il efloit,
il I'auoit toujours lionor^e & eflimee, & puis produifit
des adtes de foy & d' amour auec vn [9] zele & vne
ferueur fi extraordinaire, que cela a fait juger qu'il y
auoit quelque chofe de bien particulier dans cette
Conuerfion, il mourut deux jours apres dans les fenti-
mens d'vn veritable penitent: il fe pafTe bien des
chofes confiderables dans noftre pauure maifon qui
f eroient de gros volumes : mais il fuffit qu'elles foient
efcrittes dans le Liure de Vie. Nous joui'ffons pre-
fentement d'vne paix entiere auec les Iroquois, Dieu
referuoit I'accompliffement de cette grande affaire au
courage de Monfieur de Tra9y, & de MonHeur le

1666-68] RELA TION OF 1666-67 109

course so little expected, — at least, in regard to the
saving of souls, — that we feel an ambition to
begrudge neither our goods, if we had any, nor our
cares and labors, for the relief of every one. No
one dies in our Hospital, or leaves it, without giving
proofs of a genuine conversion. There arrived in
the latest vessel a sick Huguenot, [8] whom all
regarded as the most obstinate man on earth in his
error. Nevertheless, his disease compelling him to
have himself brought to our house, he had not passed
three days there before he abjured his Heresy. His
ailment increasing, he earnestly requested his last
Sacraments; and, after receiving the Holy Viaticum,
and being told by Monsieur du Douyt — a most
worthy Ecclesiastic of the Seminary of Monseigneur
our Bishop — that he ought to thank God for the
great mercies which he had received at his hands, he
replied that his gratitude was such that he could not
contain his joy. He added that it was the Blessed
Virgin who had procured him the grace of conversion,
because. Huguenot though he was, he had ever hon-
ored and esteemed her. Then he offered prayers of
faith and love, with a [9] zeal and fervor so extraor-
dinary as to give rise to the opinion that there was
something very singular in that Conversion. Two
days later, he died with the feelings of a true peni-
tent. Many remarkable things occur in our poor
house, which would fill large volumes ; but it suffices
that they are written in the Book of Life. We enjoy
at present perfect peace with the Iroquois, God hav-
ing reserved the consummation of that great work
for the courage of Monsieur de Tracy and Monsieur
the Governor, who spared no pains to procure this
blessing for the whole Country — for which we shall

no LES RELATIONS DES J^SUITES [Vol.51

Gouuerneiir, qui n'ont rien efpargne pour procurer ce
bonheur k tout le Pais, nous leur en ferons eternelle-
ment redeuables ; C'eft le moyen d'ouurir la porte de
I'Euang-ile ^ toutes les Nations Superieures, vous en
verrez les belles efperances dans la Relation [lo]
qu'on enuoye en France, c'eft pourquoy ie ne vous
en entretiens pas, ie me contenteray de vous dire,
que le Canada eft tout k fait change depuis que ces
Meffieurs y font. Nous autres qui I'auons veu dans
les commencemens, ne le reconnoiffons prefque plus.
Ie continue de vous enuoyer le memoire de nos plus
preffantes neceffitez, ie vous prie de faire voftre
pofCble aupres des perfonnes charitables qui fe
ioignent auec vous pour nous fecourir, afin que nous
ayons tout ce que nous y demandons, & mefme plus
fi vous pouuez, parce que nous I'auons fait le plus
court que nous auons pu, & puis toutes chofes nous
manquent : ie vous recommande fur tout de la toille
ou des draps faits, & des feruiettes auec de la vaiffelle.
Vous voyez, Monfieur, auec quelle confiance ie vous
d^couure [ii] nos befoins, mais Noftre Seigneur vous
ayant donn^ vn coeur de pere pour nous, nous agiffons
pareillement auec vous d'vne filiale cordialite, qui
me fait dire que ie fuis de tout mon cceur,
MONSIEVR,

Voftre tres-humble & tres-obeiffante
feruante en Noftre Seigneur, Soeur
Marie de S. Bonauenture de Iesvs
Superieure indigne.
De r Hojlel-Dieu de Kebec,
le 20. O^obre 1667.

[12] Meffievrs et Dames qui auro?it la bont^ de faire
quelques charitez & auniofnes des Drogues & autres chofes

1666-68] RELATION OF 1666-67 HI

be ever indebted to them. It furnishes the means
of opening the door of the Gospel to all the Upper
Nations. Our fair hopes in this matter you will see
in the Relation [10] that is sent to France ; therefore I
do not speak of them to you, but will content myself
with assuring you that Canada is utterly changed
since the arrival of those Gentlemen ; we who saw it
in the beginning hardly know it any longer. I con-
tinue to send you the list of our more pressing needs,
and beg you to do your utmost with the benevolent
persons who join with you for our relief, in order
that we may have all that we ask, — and even more,
if you can effect that; because we have made the list
as short as we could, and, moreover, we are in want
of everything. Especially do I urge upon you our
need of linen, of ready-made sheets and napkins,
together with plates and dishes. You see, Monsieur,
with what trust I reveal to you [11] our needs; but
Our Lord having given you a father's heart for us,
we likewise cherish toward you a filial cordiality
which makes me style myself, with all my heart,
MONSIEUR,

Your very humble and obedient
servant in Our Lord, Sister
Marie de St. Bonaventure de
Jesus, unworthy Superior.

Hostel- Dieu of Kebec,
October 20, 1667.

[12] Gentlemen and Ladies kindly disposed to give, in the
cause of charity, such Drugs and other articles as are
specified ifi the following List, are requested to send them
to the house of Monsieur Cranioisy, Printer in ordinary
to the King, Citizen of Paris, residing in rue St. Jacques;

112 LES RELATIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol.51

specifiees an Memoire cy-apr^s efcrit, font priez de les
enuoyer chez Monfieur Cramoi/y Imprimeur ordinaire du
Roy, Bourgeois de Paris, detneurant rue S. Jacques, ou de
Ven /aire auertir, & il ne manquera de les enuoyer querir.

[13] MEMOIRE DE CE QVI EST NECESSAIRE POUR L'HOS-

PITAL DE KEBEC DE LA NOUUELLE FRANCE, POUR

LEUR POUUOIR ESTRE ENUOYEZ AU MOIS DE

FEURIER & MARS 1668. AU PLUS TARD.

SIX liures de SenL
Trente liures de bonne Therebentine.
Quatre liures de Manne.
Qiiatre liures de Theriaque fine.
Vne liure de Canelle.
Vne liure de Giraffe.
Six liures de Poivre.
Vne liure de Poivre long.
Vne liure de Mufcade.
Onguent Martiatum.
Onguent Diuin.
Onguent Manus Dei.
Cire Blanche pour des Onguent s.
Cire laune pour des Onguents.
Du Sucre.

De la Caffonnade pour les compofitions & les Strops.
De la toille pour faire des Draps, des Chemifes & Ser-
uiettes, ou,

Du linge totit fait.

Vne douzaine d' Af^iettes d' EJiain.

[14] Deux douzaines de SauJ^ieres d'EJlain.

Six Douzaines de Cuillieres d' EJlain.

Six Chopines d' EJlain.

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1666 - 67 113

or to notify him of their gifts, and he will not fail to send
for them.

[13] LIST OF ARTICLES NEEDED BY THE HOSPITAL AT

KEBEC IN NEW FRANCE, AND TO BE SENT TO

IT IN THE MONTHS OF FEBRUARY AND

MARCH, 1668, AT THE LATEST.

SIX livres of Senna.
Thirty livres of good Turpentine .
Four livres of Ma?i7ia.
Four livres of fine Theriac.
One livre of Cinnamon.
One livre of Cloves.
Six livres of Pepper.
One livre of long Pepper.
One livre of Nutmegs.
Ointment — Martiatum.
Oi?itment — Divinum. '
Ointment — Manus Dei.^
White Wax for Ointments.
Yellow Wax for Ointments.
Sugar.

Coarse Sugar for mixtures and Syrups.
Linen for making Sheets, Shirts, and Napkins, or
Linen all made up.
One dozen Tin Plates.
[14] Two dozen Tin Sauce-dishes.
Six Dozen Tin Spoons.
Six Tin Chopine measures.
White thread for sewitig.
Two dozen Combs for the sick.
Six coarse horn Co7nbs.
Two Reams of fine Paper.

114 LES RELATIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol.51

Du fil blanc h coudre.

Deux douzaines de Peignes pour les malades.
Six Peignes de comes pour d^mejler.
Deux Rames de Papier fin.

Vne Rame de Papier brouillart.
Des Cierges pour VAutel.
Six Bouquets de fieur pour V Hyuer.
Deux Tableaux dorez.

Vn petit Repojoir de bois dor ^ pour expofer le tres- faint
Sacrement.

Six bo7is Coujieaux de Cuifine.

De petites & grandes Lardoires.

Boettes de Confitures feiches pour les Pauures malades.

Deux peaux de Chien Marin.

Des cor des de boyaux pour vn Tour.

Des Chappelets.

Des El}ingucs pour les malades.

De la circ d' EJpagne.

Des Plumes.

Vne Rame de Papier fin affez grand.
Des petits Liures de Deuotion.

1666-68] RELATION OF 1666-67 115

One Ream of blotting Paper.
Tapers for the A Itar.
Six Bouqjiets of flowers for Winter.
Two gilded Pictures.

A small gilded zvooden Altar for displaying the most
holy Sacrament .

Six good Kitchen Knives.

Small and large Larding-pins .

Boxes of dry Preserves for the Poor patients .

Two Sealskins.

Cat-gut cords for a Revolving-box .

Rosaries.

Pins for the patients.

Spanish wax.

Pens.

One Ream of moderately large fine Paper.

Small Books of Devotion.

CXXII— CXXIII

Miscellaneous Documents, 1668

CXXIL — Lettre du R. P. Jacques Bruyas. La mission de
St. Francois Xavier chez les Iroquois; 2ie. Jan-
vier, 1668

CXXIIL— Journal des PP. Jesuites, Janvier- Juin, 1668

SOURCES: We follow the original MS. of Doc. CXXIL,
in the possession of C. F. Gunther, Chicago. In publishing
the Journal des jL'suites, of which Doc. CXXIIL is the final
installment, we have throughout followed the original MS. in
the library of Laval University, Quebec.

118 LES RELATIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol.51

Lettre du R. P. Jacques Bruyas.

de La mission de S^ Francois
Xauier chez les Iroquois ce
2 1^. Januier 1668

MON Reuerend Pere
PC.
Cest pour satisfaire au desir de uostre Reue-
rence, & pour I'obliger de prier dieu pour moy, que
Je luy escript plustost que parsque iay des chofes con-
siderables a luy dire : les relations du Canada ont
deja tant parle des Iroquois, que tout ce que i'en
pourray escrire a I'avenir, ne seront que de simples
redites de ce qui a Este Explique bien au long- par
nos peres qui les ont cognu deuant moy ; neantmoins
ces redites ne uous feront pas peutestre desagrea-
bles, et uous ferez bien aize d'estre confirm^ de tout
ce qu'ils ont dit par ma propre Experience; et dans
cette pensee J'Enuoye un petit abreg6 de ce que lay
peu remarquer depuis le peu de temps que ie f uis icy,
touchant les moeurs, le naturel, la maniere de uiure
de Iroquois et le progrez de n""^ religion dans ces
terres Infidelles; II n'eft pas besoing de repeter icy
ce que u''^ R. ne pent Ignorer que les Iroquois font
distingue en cinq nations, scauoir Tsonnontb'anne-
hronons. oiogbJelironnons, onnontagehronnons, onnei-
yteronnons, ganniegehronnons. ces deux derniers
font nomm6 Inferieurs, pour les distinguer des trois
autres que Ton appelle Iroquois fuperieurs, tant

1666-68] LETTER FROM BRUYAS 119

Letter from Reverend Father Jacques Bruyas.

From The mission of St. Francis
Xavier among the Iroquois, this
2 1 St of January, i668.

MY Reverend Father,
Pax Christi.
It is to satisfy your Reverence's desire, and
to secure your prayers to God for me, that I write to
you, rather than because I have anything important
to say. The relations of Canada have already told
so much about the Iroquois that all that I can write
in the future will be only trite repetitions of what
has Been Explained at length by our fathers who
knew them before I did. Nevertheless, these repeti-
tions will perhaps not be unpleasing to you, and you
will be very glad to be confirmed, by my own Ex-
perience, in all that they have said; and with this
idea I Send you a brief abstract of what I have been
able to observe, in the short time that I have spent
here, touching the customs, the character, and the
way of living of the Iroquois, and the progress of
our religion in these Infidel lands. It is unnecessary
to repeat here, what your Reverence must Know,
that the Iroquois are divided into five nations,
namely, the Tsonnontwannehronons, oiogwehronnons,
onnontagehronnons, onneiouteronnons, and ganniege-
hronnons. These last two are called Lower, to dis-
tinguish them from the other three, who are called
upper Iroquois — both because they are less north-

120 LES RELATIONS DES J&SUITES [Vol.51

parsqu'ils font moins feptentrionaux, que parsqu'ils
habitent des lieux fort montueux : mais ils font tons
unis Ensemble et ont les mesmes Ennemys. nous
auons une mission chez les Iroquois Inferieurs, le ne
diray rien du succez de celle d'agniege, ou il y a
deux Jefuistes, la relation en Instruira v. R. le fcay
feulement qu'il y a Eut une grande moiffon, et que
dieu femble auoir uoulu estre glorifi^ d'auantage
par ceux des Iroquois que Ton lugeoit les plus
61oign6s de tenir nos mysteres: Je ne parleray que
d'onneiXt eloign6 de trante lieiies de ganniege, et Je
diray.

1°. qu'il eft fitu6 au 44^. degre d'eleuation, fur une
Eminence d ou 1 on pourroit decouurir bien du pays,
si les bois qui L'Enuironnent estoient desertes: II
n'y a point de riuiere n'y de lac qu'a cinq lieiies du
bourg, ou il y a un lac long de 12 lieues et large de
deux, lequel fournit du poilTon a presque tous les
Iroquois, ce lieu eft assez agreable quoyqu'il ny ayt
rien de tout ce qui fait la beaute de nos maisons de
campagnes; si Ton prenoit la peine d'y planter des
uignes et des arbres, ils produiroient aussi bien
qu'en France, mais le fauuage ayme trop a courir
pour Tobliger a les cultiuer ; on y uoit neantmoins des
pommiers, pruniers, chastagniers, noyers, mais tous
ces fruits font peu considerables et n'ont pas le gout
de ceux de France, finon les noix et les chastagnes
que Je ne trouue nullement differentes des noftres
pour le gout : II y a aussi des uignes qui portent des
raisins assez bons Et dont nos peres ont faict autrefois
du uin pour la messe. Je crois que fi on les tailloit
deux ans de fuitte les raisins feroient auffi bons que
ceux de France. Les mures et les fraizes font en

1666-68] LETTER FROM BRUYAS 121

erly, and because they inhabit very hilly districts ; but
they are all United and have the same Enemies.
We have a mission among the Lower Iroquois. I
will say nothing of the success of that at agniege,
where there are two Jesuits, since the relation will
Inform your Reverence concerning it. I only know
that there has Been a rich harvest there, and that
it seems as if God has chosen to be most glorified
by those of the Iroquois who were Regarded as
most averse to believing our mysteries. I will only
speak of onneiout, distant about thirty leagues from
ganni^ge, and I will say:

ist, that it is situated on the 44th parallel of lati-
tude, upon an Eminence, whence one could see a
great deal of the country if the woods which Environ
It were cleared away. There is no river or lake, ex-
cept at five leagues' distance from the town, where
there is a lake 12 leagues long and two wide, which
furnishes fish to nearly all the Iroquois. This place
is fairly pleasant, although it has none of the features
which give beauty to our country homes. If one
were to take the trouble to plant some vines and
trees, they would yield as well as they do in France ;
but the savage is too fond of wandering to be made
to cultivate them. Nevertheless, apple, plum, and
chestnut trees are seen here ; but all these fruits are
of little importance, and do not have the same taste
as those of France, — except the walnuts and chest-
nuts, which I find in no wise different in taste from
our own. There are also vines, which bear toler-
ably good grapes, from which our fathers formerly
made wine for the mass. I believe that, if they were
pruned two years in succession, the grapes would be
as good as those of France. The mulberries and

122 LES RELATIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol.51

£l grande abondance, que la terre En eft toute cou-
uerte, Ion fait fecher des unes et des autres pour en
afCaifonner la fagamit^ au deffaut du poiffon. uoila
tout ce qu'il y a de rare dans ce pays ceux qui L'ha-
bitent n'ont pas plus d'attraits, les onneiHts ont eut
iusques icy la reputation deftre les plus cruels de
tout les Iroquois, En effect II n'ont Jamais parle de
paix que d^puis deux ans, et ce font eux qui ont tou-
jours faict la guerre aux algonquins, et hurons; les
deux tiers de ce bourc font compost de ces deux
nations, qui font deuenues Iroquoises d'humeur et
d' Inclination, le naturel de onnei^ts eft tout bar-
bare, c'eft a dire cruel, couuert, fourbe, et port6
au fang, et au Carnage: la Junesse eft ^fleuee et
nourrie dans la guerre, et ne uoudroit lamais la paix,
fi les ueillards qui ont quelque credit fur elle, ne luy
obligeoit, f'ils n'ont point d'Ennemis ils fen font de
nouueaux, et la paffion de tuer les hommes eft fi
grande, qu'ils font volontiers 300 Lieues et d'auan-
tage pour Enleuer une cheuelure. quelle disposition
a L'Efeuangile qui ne nous parle que de paix, et dont
L'Esprit n'eft que douceur et que mansuetude. mais
ils ont bien d'autres Empeschemens et de plus grands
obstacles a la foy, pa[r]my plusieurs I'en ay remarque
trois qui preualent fur tout les autres, et qui font
communs a tous les Iroquois.

L'lurognerie, le fonge Et I'Jmpuret^. lis ne font
lurognes que d6puis qu'ils frequentent les franjois
et les holandois. ceux la ne peuuent pas leur four-
nir de L'Eau de uie tant a Cause des deffences de
nos gouuerneurs, que de la guerre qu'ils nous ont
faict Iusques icy, mais les fiammans leurs En donnent
autant qu'ils en peuuent porter, leur manie eft fi

1666-68] LETTER FROM BRUYAS 123

Strawberries are so abundant that the ground is all
covered with Them; both are dried, in order to
season the sagamit6 when there is no fish. I have
named all that is rare in this country. Those who
inhabit It are no more attractive. The onnei-
outs have hitherto had the reputation of being the
most cruel of all the Iroquois, and. In fact, They
have Never spoken of peace until within the last
two years; it is they who have always made war
against the algonquins and the hurons. Two-thirds
of this village is composed of these two nations, who
have become Iroquois in temper and Inclination.
The nature of the onneiouts is altogether barba-
rous,— that is to say, cruel, secret, cunning, and
inclined to blood and Carnage. The Youth are
reared and nourished in war, and would Never
choose peace if the old men, who have some influ-
ence over them, did not compel them to it. If they
have no Enemies, they make these anew; and the
passion for killing men is so great that they willingly
go 300 Leagues and more to Remove one scalp.
What disposition this is for The Gospel, which speaks
only of peace, and whose Spirit is only sweetness and
gentleness ! But there are indeed other Hindrances
and greater obstacles to the faith. Among many, I
have noticed three which prevail over all the others,
and which are common to all the Iroquois.

Drunkenness, dreams, And Impurity. They are
Drunkards only since they have associated with the
french and dutch. The former cannot furnish them
Brandy, — on Account both of the prohibitions of
our governors, and of the war which they have
Hitherto waged against us, — but the flemish give
.them as much of It as they can carry. They have

124 LES RELATIONS DES j£SUITES [Vol.51

grande pour auoir de cette funeste boiffon, qu'ils ne
pleignent pas de faire 200 lieues pour en Emporter
trois ou quatre pots dans leur pays, et le mal eft que
quand ils ont beu, fe font des demons. L'Efte paff6
quatre onnei^ts s'entretuerent dans L'lurognerie,
fans que c'eft accident ayt rendu les autres plus
sages. II y a quelque temps qu'estant dans la
chapelle, un lurogne fe presentast a la porte,
demendant ou estoit la robe noire, le la ueux tuer,
disoit il, c'eft un demon qui nous deffend d'auoir
plusieurs femmes, mais comme il uit la porte fermee
il fen retourna hurlant comme un poffede. ce n'eft
pas I'unique fois qu'ils m'ont clierch6 pour m'as-
somer, mais dieu m'a toujours conserve pour me
donner comme I'espere une mort plus glorieuse
apres que I'auray faict penitence de mes peches
pendent quelques annees, quand ils f'Eniurent fou-
uent a deffein de tuer ceux a qui ils ueulent mal, et
pour lors tout eft pardonn^, uous n'auez point d'autre
satisfaction fmon celle cy, que ueux tu que I'y faffe,
le n'auois point d'esprit, I'estois lure, uoila comme
ils payent la mort d'un homme, II n'y a parmy Eux
ny prison ny gibet, chascun vit a fa fantafie, et le
m'estonne comme dans une fi grande Impunite ils ne
fe coupent la gorge touts les lours.

Le fonge est un mal encor plus dangereux, comme
il est le plus ancien, on a bien de la peine a le guerir,
Ceft la diuinit6 des fauuages, pour laquelle ils n'ont
pas moins de respect, que nous auons pour les chofes
les plus fainctes. tout ce quils fongent doit estre
accomply, a moins que de f'attirer la haine de tons
les parens du fongeur, et f'expoier a ressentir les
effects de leur colere. c'est ce qui met fouuent en

1666-68] LETTER FROM BRUYAS 125

such a mania to get possession of this baneful drink
that they do not complain of going 200 leagues,
to Bring three or four pots of it into their own
country; and the worst is that, when they have
drunk it, they are demons. Last Summer, four
onneiouts were killed by their comrades, while
Drunken ; yet this accident did not make the others
any wiser. Some time ago, while I was in the
chapel, a Drunken man presented himself at the door,
and asked where the black gown was. " I will
kill him," said he; " he is a demon, who forbids us
to have several wives; " but, when he saw the door
closed, he went home, shouting like a madman.
This is not the only time that they have sought to
kill me; but God always preserved me, — to give me,
as I hope, a more glorious death after I shall have done
penance for my sins during some years. Although
they often become Intoxicated with the intention
of killing those to whom they bear ill will, yet
all is then forgiven, and you have no other satis-
faction than this: " What wouldst thou have me do?
I had no sense; I was Drunk." Thus they atone for
a man's death. There is among Them neither prison
nor gibbet; each one lives according to his fancy;
and I am surprised that, in so great Impunity, they
are not Daily cutting each other's throats.

The dream is an evil still more dangerous. As it
is the oldest, it is very hard to cure. It is the divin-
ity of the savages, for which they have no less respect
than we have for the most holy things. All that
they dream must be carried out; otherwise, one
draws upon himself the hatred of all the dreamer's
relatives, and exposes himself to feel the effects of
their anger. This is what often causes hardship to a

126 LES RELATIONS DES J^SUITES [Vol.51

peine un pauure miffionaire, qui ne pent pas falTeurer
un moment de fa uie, mais ils en tirent cet auantange,
quils font oblige deftre fur leur gardes et de uiure
comme f'ils deuoient mourir tout les moments, fi
I'estois plus Intelligent de leur langue que Je ne fuis,
ie pourrois Informer V. R. plus au long de la nature
de leur fonge, ce fera pour L'anne6 fuiuante, Ie me
contanteray de luy Escrire celle cy, ce que lay ueu
et non pas ce que lay Entendu.

Enfin L'Impuret6 triomphe fi Infolemment de tous
nos fauuages qu'ils fe glorifient mesme d'un crime
qui faict rougir les plus fages. La poligamie Intro-
duite depuis tant de fci6cles pa[r]my Eux eft un des
plus grands obstacles qu'ils ayent a la puret^ du
christianisme. quand on leur dit quil y a des hommes
et mesmes des filles En France qui ne fe marient
lamais cela leur paroit fi Extrahordinaire, quils ont
de la peine a Ie Croire, neantmoins dans une fi grande
et li uniuerselle corruption, lay trouue un bon neo-
phyte qui a depuis trois ans quil eft mari6 conseru6
la foy coniugale a la femme quoyqu'il n'en ayt aucun
Enfant, Ie crois qu'il eft L'unique. II y a une aulli
grande facilite a rompre les mariages qu'a les faire,
Ie mary quitte fa femme et la femme fon mary quant
il luy plait. Ils gardent dans leur mariage la loy des
Juif s, qui f uscitabant femen fratris fui, pour les autres
degrez de parens lis les obferuent affez. cest a mon
aduis Ie plus grand p^cli6 non feulement des Iroquois,
mais de tous les fauuages, et pour lequel Ie m 'attend
a foustenir de rudes Combats, Voila mon R. P. ce qui
Empesche la foy de triompher en ce pays, ce font 1^
ces trois grands Ennemis de Jesus Christ d'ont parle
S'. Jean, concupicentia carnis, concupicentia oculorum

1666-68] LETTER FROM BRUYAS 127

poor missionary, who cannot be sure of a moment of
his life ; but they derive this advantage from it, that
they are obliged to be upon their guard, and to live
as if they were to die at any moment. If I Under-
stood more of their language than I do, I could In-
form Your Reverence more at length of the nature of
their dreams. This will be reserved for next year;
I shall content myself, this year, with Writing to
you, what I have seen, and not what I have Heard.
Finally, Impurity triumphs so Insolently among
all our savages, that they even glory in a crime
which makes the more modest blush. Polygamy,
Introduced among Them so many centuries ago,
is one of the greatest obstacles in their way to
christian purity. When they are told that there
are men, and even women, In France who Never
marry, it appears so Extraordinary to them that they
can hardly Believe it. Nevertheless, in so great
and universal corruption, I have found one good
neophyte, w^ho has, during the three years since he
was married, kept his conjugal faith to his wife,
although he has not had any Children. I believe
that he is The only one. There is as great ease in
breaking marriages as in making them, — the hus-
band leaving his wife, and the wife her husband, at
pleasure. They observe in their marriages the law
of the Jews, who suscitabant semen fratris sui. As to
other degrees of relationship, They observe them
fairly well. This is, in my opinion, the greatest
sin, not only of the Iroquois, but of all the savages,
and the one on account of which I am expecting to
sustain some severe Battles. You can see, my Rev-
erend Father, what Prevents the faith from triumph-
ing in this country; it is these three great Enemies

128 LES RELA TIONS DES JESUITES [Vol. 51

et fuperbia uitae. le demon eft L'ouurier du fonge,
L'lurognerie pent paller pour le monde; car c'est
estre braue que de f'enlure parmis Eux, Et les
desordres de L'Impurete n'Expriment ils pavS par-
faictement le troisiesme Ennemis de I'liomme. Je
n'ay pas remarque d'autres uices dans nos Iroquois,
Ils ne fcauent ce que c'est que de lurer, lamais le
ne les ay ueu mettre en collere, mesme En des occa-
sions ou nos francois auroient faict cent ferments,
leur uie pourroit Estre assez Innocente, f 'ils Estoient
chrestiens comme ils ne uiuent que du Jour a la
Journee, ils ne fouhaittent pas beaucoup, et tout leur
desir fe termine a auoir de quoy manger, c'eft la le
fouuerain bonheur du fauuage quand il a de la uiande
fraiche, il f'estime le plus hureux du monde, et les
femmes ne font presque autre chofe tout L'hyuer que
d'aller prendre la chair des cerfs ou des aurignaux
que les hommes ont tue quelquefois a Cinquante
lieues du bourc. on me demande fouuent fi Ion
mange dans le paradis de I'aurignac et de L'ours &c
Et Je leur Respond que fils ont Enuie d'en manger,
leurs desirs feront fatisfaict. cette reponce me fert
En beaucoups d'autres rancontres, ou ils font des
demandes Impertinentes, comme celuy qui vouloit
fcauoir fi on alloit a la guerre dans le Ciel, fi L'on y
tuoit des hommes, et fi on y Enleuoit des cheuelures :
fans cela disoit ils Je ne croiray point. Jl fut Con-
tent quand on luy dit, fi tu ueux aller En guerre tu
iras et I't'accordera tout ce que tu fouhaiteras. Jugez
par Ik de 1' Esprit des fauuages, pour moy Je les com-
pare a nos paisans de France, et Je ne crois pas qu'ils
f oient plus fpirituels, fi non quelques uns qui en uerit^
me furprennent par leurs reponces.

1666-68] LETTER FROM BRUYAS 129

of Jesus Christ, of whom St. John speaks — conciipi-
centia carnis, concupicentia oculorum, et super bia vitcz.
The demon is The creator of the dream ; Drunken-
ness may pass for the world, for among these People
to be Drunk is to be valiant ; And do not the dis-
orders arising from Impurity Express perfectly the
third Enemy of mankind? I have not observed any
other vices in our Iroquois. They do not know what
Cursing is. I have Never seen them become angry,
even On occasions when our frenchmen would have
uttered a hundred oaths. Their lives might Be Inno-
cent enough if they Were christians. As they only
live from Day to Day, they do not desire much ; and
all their wishes end in having something to eat. It
is a savage's supreme good to have fresh meat ; he
then considers himself the happiest person in the
world; and the women do hardly anything else, all
The winter, but go and get the flesh of the deer
or of the moose that the men have killed, sometimes
Fifty leagues away from the village. I am often
asked if they eat the meat of moose, bear, etc. in
paradise ; And I Answer them that, if they Desire to
eat it, their desires will be satisfied. This answer
serves me in many other instances, when they ask
Impertinent questions, as did one who wished to
know if they went to war in Heaven, if they killed
men there, if they Took off their scalps. " Without
these things," said he, " I will not believe." He
was Satisfied when he was told, " If thou wishest to
go To war, thou wilt go ; and God will grant thee all
that thou shalt wish." Judge from this of the Minds
of the savages. For my part, I compare them to our
peasants in France, and I do not think that they are

130 LES RELATIONS DES j£SUITES [Vol.51

II eft temps de dire a V. R. Les progrez de n'"« reli-
gion dans ce pays: Elle pent Juger qu'ils font tres
petis, nonfeulement parsque Jay deia Escrit des
oppofi[ti]ons que les Iroquois ont a L'Euangile. mais
Encor par la foiblesse de ce luy qui le leurs anonce.
que peut faire un homme qui n'entend pas leur
langue, et qui n'est pas Entendu quand II parle? uere
Ex ore Infantium perfecit laudem. Je ne fais Encor
que begayer, neantmoins lay baptife depuis quatre
mois 60 perfonnes, parmis lesquelles, il ny a que
quatre adultes, baptife in periculo mortis, tout le refte
font de petis Enfans, partie hurons, dont les parens
font deja chrestiens depuis longtemps, Et partie Iro-
quois, la chapelle que Ton ma bastie Eft d'autant
frequante que Je pourrois le desirer, et la Constance
a uenir prier Dieu eft admirable : Jl Eft uray que de
tous ceux que Jay baptist, Jl ny En a point qui
foient marie, comme ils rompent fi aisement leur
mariages, Je demande une plus longue Epreuue d'Eux
que des autres. I'espere d'auoir dans trois mois un
autre pere auec moy lecquel Entend parfaictement la
langue, et fera plus dans une femaine que Je n'ay
faict dans fix mois, d'ailleurs Dieu peutestre humi-
liera nos onnei^ts, qui Jusques icy ont toujours est6
dans la profperite et dans I'abondance. La Cam-
pagne de m'. de tracy chez leur uoisin n'a pas peu
feruya leur conuerGon, cest ce que Je demande tous
les lours a n''^ Seigneur par le moyen de S^ xauier, a
qui lay dedie ma chapelle, Et dont cette million
portera de nom d'oresnauant. Je n'espere pas auffi
un petit fecours des Enfans que Jay baptise les quels
font mort apres le baptesme, mais fur tout lay grande
Confiance aux prieres dune bonne chrestienne morte

1666-68] LETTER FROM BRUYAS 131

more intelligent, — except some, who in truth surprise
me by their answers.

It is time to tell Your Reverence The progress of
our religion in this country. You can Judge that it
is very slight, — not only because I have already
Written about the opposition the Iroquois feel toward
The Gospel, but Still more on account of the weakness
of him who announces it to them. What can a man
do who does not understand their language, and who
is not Understood when He speaks? Ver^, Ex ore
Infantuim per fecit laudem. As Yet, I do nothing but
stammer ; nevertheless, in four months I have bap-
tized 60 persons, among whom there are only four
adults, baptized in periculo mortis; all the rest are little
Children, — partly huron, whose parents have been
christians for a long time. And partly Iroquois. The
chapel that was built for me Is frequented as much
as I could desire ; and their constancy in coming to
pray to God is admirable. It Is true that, of all
those whom I have baptized, none are married; as
they break their marriage bonds so easily, I ask a
longer Probation from These than from the others.
I hope to have with me, in three months, another
father who Understands the language perfectly, and
will do more in a week than I have done in six
months; and besides, God will perhaps humiliate
our onneiouts, who, up To the present, have always
lived in prosperity and abundance. The Campaign
of monsieur de tracy among their neighbors has
aided not a little in their conversion. It is this that
I ask from our Lord every Day, through St. xavier,
to whom I have dedicated my chapel. And whose
name this mission will hereafter bear, I hope also
for no little aid from the Children whom I have

132 LES RELATIONS DES JASUITES [Vol.51

depuis quatre mois, auec toutes les marques dune
atne predestme6, cette pauure femme Estoit malade
il y a longtem dune fiebure lante qui auoit faict de
fon corps une fquelette, Et un cadaure anime : ayant
oiiir parler a fa niepce de la priere et du bonheur des
fidelles, elle m'Inuitaft a Taller uoir pour L'Instruire
plus amplement de ces uerit^s, ceft ce que le fis
pendant un mois Entier, apres le quel uoyant que fa
fiebure augmentoit Je la baptifay auec une loye tres
fensible de fon ame, depuis fon baptesme Je n'ay
point manqu6 de la uifiter Et de la faire prier dieu
lusques au Jour de la fefte des Saincts, au quel Je
m'appergu que dieu la uouloit deliurer des miferes
quelle f ouff roit : Elle comman9a des le foir du Jour
a perdre la parole, mais elle ne perdit pas L'amour
qu'elle auoit pour la priere. Elle prioit des yeux Et
des mains, ne pouuant plus le faire de la langue
Enfin le Jour des morts fur le tard, Je retournay dans
fa cabanne, et Je trouuay que Dieu luy auoit rendu
la parole, Je me feruis de ce moment pour luy faire
faire les actes ordinaires En cette rencontre apres les
quels elle demeura quelque temps fans dire mot, a
Caufe des grandes douleurs qu'elle fouffroit; mais
ayant tire mon crucifix et luy ayant dit agathe uoyla
celuy qui efl mort pour te donner la uie, Tayme tu
pas, ueux tu Encore I'offancer, elle fit un dernier effort
pour me dire distinctement, non Jamais plus de
pech6s Je t'ayme Jesus Et Je t'aymeray toute ma uie,
Et faisant figne de la bouclie, car elle n'auoit pas
I'usage des mains, d'approcher mon crucifix de fa
bouche elle le baisa auec tant de deuotion, que J'eu
bien de la peine h. ne pas donner quelques larmes a
la ueue d un fpectacle fi tendre, et tout Enfemble fi

1666-68] LETTER FROM BRUY AS 133

baptized, who died after baptism. But, above all, I
have great Confidence in the prayers of a good chris-
tian woman who died four months ago, with all the
signs of a predestined soul. This poor woman Was
sick for a long time with a slow fever, which had
made her body a skeleton And an animated corpse.
Having heard her niece speak about the prayers, and
the happiness of believers, she Invited me to visit
her, to Instruct Her more fully in these truths, I
did so during an Entire month; after which, seeing
that her fever increased, I baptized her, with a Joy
deeply felt in her soul. After her baptism, I did not
fail to visit her, And to make her pray to God, Up to
the Day of the feast of the Saints, — when I perceived
that God chose to deliver her from the miseries she
was enduring. She began from the evening of that
Day to lose her speech, but she did not lose her love
for prayer. She prayed with her eyes And hands,
not being able longer to do so with her tongue.
Finally, on the Day of the dead, about evening, I
returned to her cabin, and found that God had
restored to her her speech. I availed myself of this
moment to have her perform the acts usual On such
occasions, after which she remained for some time in
silence, on Account of the great pain that she was
suffering. But I drew out my crucifix, and said to
her, " Agatha, behold him who has died to give thee
life ; dost thou not love him ? Dost thou wish Again
to offend him?" She made one last effort to say to
me, distinctly, " Never more any sin; I love thee,
Jesus, And I shall love thee all my life;" And,
making a sign with her lips, for she could not use
her hands, to hold my crucifix to her lips, she kissed
it, — with so much devotion, that I had difficulty in

134 LES RELA TIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol. 51

nouueaux dans une personne nourrie dans I'ldolatrie
et dans 1' Ignorance de nos mysteres. c'eft ainsy
qu'elle a continue de faire lusqu'au dernier foiipir,
qu'elle a rendu Entre les bras de Jesus mourant en
croix et pour elle et pour nous, uoila comme dieu
detrempe les amertumes de ma folitude, et comme
il adoucit toutes les difficultez qui fe rencontrent dans
la uie ap^'^"'^. I'aduoue que cette feule uictoire fur
le demon m'a donne un grand courage, et un grand
desir de mieux trauailler que le n'ay faidt. I'estime-
rois bien toutes mes peines a uenir de France recom-
pensees quand Je ne ferois rien aultre a I'auenir: ab
mon cher Pere, que cette pense6 eft consolante, i'ay
contribue au salut d'une ame? qu'elle eft puissante
pour nous animer a tout faire et tout fouffrir pour
fauuer ce qui a tant couste a Jesus christ? on m'es-
crit que le feu eft dans le grand college, et que
plusieurs pressent Instamraent pour obtenir la mission
du Canada: Jamais 1' occasion ne fut plus belle pour
fatisfaire leur deiir, la porte eft maintenant ouuerte
chez, tous les Iroquois, les onnontagehronnons chez
qui nos Peres ont deia demeure uous descendent a
Kebec pour les ramener dans leur pais; les deux
autres nations ne tarderont pas a fuiure leur Exemple ;
d'ailleurs le fuis affeure qu'il ny a pas assez d'ou-
uriers a Kebec pour En fournir a tous ces peuples,
amoins qu'il nen foit uenu cette annee de France, ce
que le ne puis pas encore fcauoir; et partant II ne
tiendra qu'k ces braues missionaires de nous uenir
auplustoft fecourir, et n'^^ Zele pour le feu qui les
confume. mais ils aggreeront que le les Informe
auparauant des dispofitions que dieu demande a ceux
qu'il appelle furtout a la mission des Iroquois, et que

1666-68] LETTER FROM BRUYAS 135

restraining my tears at the sight of so moving a
spectacle, and one so Entirely novel in a person
reared in Idolatry, and in Ignorance of our mysteries.
Thus she continued to act Until her last sigh, which
she rendered up In the arms of Jesus, who died upon
the cross both for her and for us. It is thus that God
softens the bitterness of my solitude, and sweetens
all the difficulties that are encountered in the
apostolic life. I confess that this single victory over
the demon has given me great courage, and a great
desire to work better than I have done. I would
certainly esteem all my trials in coming from France
requited, if I accomplished nothing else in the future.
Ah, my dear Father, how consoling is this thought,
' * I have contributed to the salvation of a soul ! " How
powerful it is to stimulate us to do all and to suffer
all, in order to save what has cost Jesus Christ so
much ! Friends write to me that this fire has reached
the great college, and that many ask Urgently to
be assigned to Canada. Never was there a finer
opportunity to satisfy their desires, for the gate is
now open to all the Iroquois. The onnontagehron-
nons, with whom our Fathers have already lived, are
going down to our people at Kebec, to take them
back into their country ; the two other nations will
not delay to follow their Example. Moreover, I am
assured that there are not enough workers at Kebec
to supply all these peoples, unless some have come
this year from France, which I cannot yet know; and
therefore It will depend only upon these brave mis-
sionaries to come to our help as soon as possible,
and upon our Zeal for the fire that consumes them.
But they will receive it kindly if I Inform them
beforehand of the disposition that God requires from

136 LES RELA TIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol. 51

le leur dise qu'il faut estre prest a mourir tons les
iours, et porter fon ame Entre les mains tous les
mommens de fa uie. II ny a point de feux a craindre
tant que la paix dnrera, tout ce qui eft apprehender,
eft d'estre affomme par quelque etourdi: mais Fose
dire que la uie que Ton meine Comp^. des barbares
Eft un martyre continuel, et que les feux des Iroquois
feroient plus doux que les peines que Ton Endure
parmy Eux. II faut f'attendre a uoir tous fes fens
martyrisez tous les iours, la ueue par la fume6 des
cabanes, i'en ay presq; perdu les yeux: L'ouye par
leurs cris Importuns, et leurs uifites assomantes:
L'odorat par la puanteur qu'Exalent fans cesse les
cheueux huiles et graisseux des femmes et des
hommes: le fentiement par un froid aussi rude qu'a
Kebec, et Enfin le goust par le manger fade et insipide
des Sauuages, du quel il fuffit de dire que le plus friand
et le plus delicat f eroit le rebut des chiens de France ;
fi la fagamite Est fans affaifonnement, elle eft font
[sc. fans] gouft. ^i elle eft affaisonne6, ceft une grande
partie de I'annee, auec du poiffon pourri, et dont la
feule odeur faict foiileuer le coeur dans les commence-
mens. voila comme les fens font icy caresses; Je ne
dis rien des mepris qu'il faut Endurer, des railleries
frequentes ausquelles on s' Expose quand on parle
mal, de la peine et du d6gout qu'apporte I'Estude
dune langue tres difficile fur tout a des personnes
auancees en aage. II y a bien de la difference a
mediter la mission du canada a son oratoire et a se
trouuer dans I'Exercice dun missionaire canadois.

Je ne dis pas cecy pour d6gouter ceux a qui Dieu a
inspire la pensee pour cette uie penible et Labo-
rieuse, le me persuade au contraire qu'ils feront plus

1666-68] LETTER FROM BRUY AS 137

those whom he calls, above all, to the Iroquois
mission ; and if I tell them that they must be ready
to die at any time, and to have their souls In their
hands at any moment of their lives. No fires are to
be feared so long as the peace continues ; all that is
to be apprehended is to be beaten to death by some
hot-head. But I venture to say that the life which
one leads in Company with these barbarians Is a
continual martyrdom, and that the fires of the Iro-
quois would be easier to bear than the trials one
Endures among Them. One must expect to have all
his senses martyred daily : the sight, by the smoke of
the cabins — I have almost lost my eyes from it ; the
hearing, by their Annoying yells and wearisome
visits; the smell, by the stench that is incessantly
Exhaled by the oiled and greased hair of both women
and men; feeling, by a cold as severe as at Kebec;
and. Finally, taste, by the unsavory and insipid food
of the Savages, of which it is enough to say that the
daintiest and most delicate of it would be refused by
the dogs in France. If the sagamit^ Be without
seasoning, it is without taste; if it be seasoned, this
is done, a great part of the year, with rotten fish, the
mere odor of which at first turns one's stomach. You
can see how the senses are pampered here. I say
nothing of the contempt that must be Endured ; of
the frequent raillery to which a person Exposes him-
self, when he speaks incorrectly ; of the trouble and
chagrin occasioned by the Study of a very difficult
language, — above all, to persons advanced in age.
There is a great difference between meditating upon
the Canada mission in one's oratory, and finding
oneself Exercising the duties of a Canadian missionary.

138 LES RELA TJONS DES /^SUITES [Vol. 51

animez a en poursuiure rexecution, et qu'elle four-
nira une matiere nouuelle a leur Zele : et certe pour-
quoy perdroient ils courage en considerant que le
plus chetif et le plus Inepte qui fut dans la prouince
non feulement pour 1' Esprit, mais Encore pour le
corps, ne laisse pas de fubsister parmi toutes ces diffi-
cultez, Je dis bien plus, et il est uray que ma sant6
n'a Jamais est6 plus parfaicte, qu'elle eft depuis mon
arriuee a onnei^t, et que Je suis tellement accous-
tume a la uie Iroquoise, quelle m'eft passee comme
en nature. Je trouue la fagamite non feulement
bonne, EUe m'eft fouuent delicieufe que c'eft une
grace de ma uocation, & I'attribue a la bonte de dieu
la facilite que Jay Eue a my accouftumer des le pre-
mier lour que I'en goustay : fi dieu a faict cette grace
a un fi chetif personnage, pourquoy ne la fera il pas
Encore a ceux qu'il appellera au mesme Employ, et a
la mesme maniere de uie. mais la principale chofe
que i'ay a leur dire, eft qu'ils ne [doiuent] pas f'at-
tendre de uoir des milliers d'Infidelles conuertis,
comme dans la mission de la chine, du Tonquin «&c.
tous les Iroquois Enfemble ne font pas plus de 2000
hommes portans les armes, les 8ta8aKs, ou Ton f'est
establi II y a 2 ans font plus nombreux, dit on, le
n'en fcay rien d'asseure: fouuent on Employe une
anne6 a la conuersion de cinq ou fix families, et Ton
ne croit pas d'auoir perdu fon temps, pour moy Je
m'applique particulierement a Instruire les Enfans,
attendant d'eftre plus fcauant en la langue pour tra-
uailler a 1' Instruction des grands, mais quand on
ne fauueroit qu'une ame, ne faudroit il pas aller
Jusques au bout du monde pour la chercher? Je con-
seille a tous les proselytes du Canada de lire fouuent

1666-68] LETTER FROM BRUYAS 139

I do not say this to disgust those in whom God has
inspired the purpose to undertake this painful and
Laborious life. I persuade myself, on the contrary,
that they will be more stimulated to endeavor to
strive for its execution, and that it will furnish a new
motive for their Zeal. And, truly, why should they
lose courage, when they consider that the meanest
and most Unfit man in the province, not only in
Mind, but Also as to body, manages to exist amid
all these difficulties? I say still more, and it is true,
my health has Never been more perfect than it has
been since my arrival at onneiout ; and I am so accus-
tomed to the Iroquois life, that it has become almost
nature to me. I find the sagamite not only good,
but It often tastes delicious to me, which is a grace
of my vocation ; and I attribute to the goodness of
God the ease with which I accustomed myself to it
from the first Day when I tasted it. If God has
shown this grace to so mean a person, why will he
not do Still more to those whom he shall call to the
same Occupation and to the same manner of life ?
But the principal thing I have to say to them is that
they need not expect to see thousands of Unbeliev-
ers converted, as in the missions of china, Tonquin,
etc. All the Iroquois Together are not more than
2,000 men bearing arms. The Outawaks, among
whom we established ourselves 2 years ago, are
more numerous, it is said; I know nothing certain
about them. Often a year is Occupied in the con-
version of five or six families, and this is not consid-
ered a loss of time. For my part, I apply myself
especially to the Instruction of the Children, waiting
to become better acquainted with the language
before working for the Instruction of the adults. But

140 LES RELATIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol.51

la lettre du liure des Epistres de S^ Francois Xauier
la \blajik space] du deuzieme liure ou fur tout de bien
mediter la [blank space] du troiziesme liure qui peut
feruir d' Instruction a tous ceux qui aspirant a la uie
apostolique. V. R. et tous nos peres qui liront cecy,
f'estonneront qu'un nouice et un Jeune missionaire
comme moy fe mefle de donner des aduis, qu'il feroit
plus feant de laisser ecrire a ceux qui ont blanchy
dans cette profession, mais Je n'ay escrit toutes ces
chofes que pour contenter plusieurs de nos peres qui
m'ont fur tout recommande de leur escrire naluement
la uerite, et de ne point d^guifer mes nouuelles:
d'ailleurs le crois que V. R. aura la bonte de ne lire
ma lettre qu'en particulier a mes amis, et qu'elle
m'^pargnera la honte que Je receurais, tout 61oign6
que fuis, fi on fesoit encor precher au Refectoire,
comme on a faict II y a deux ans, on est Exemp de
fermons apres fes estudes, et lay assez Ennuye nos
Peres de uiue uoix, fans que Je continue a les En-
nuyer par mes lettres.

II faut que I'adiouste encore ce mot d' Edification:
la niepce de cette bonne Iroquoife dont lay parle ne
cedera pas a fa Tante, lay fceu une chofe d'elle qui
eft d'autant plus admirable quelle eft fort rare dans
la corruption uniuerselle des Sauuages, lamais elle
n'a uiole la foy coniugale a fon mary, quoyque Ton
I'aye fouuent follicite6 du Contraire, et mesme qu'on
luy aye ost6 quelque fort pour la rendre fterile, mais
ni fa fterilit6, ny toutes les menaces qu'on luy a faicte
n'ont pu la detourner de fon deuoir, II y a longtemps
quelle me presse de la baptiser, c'eft une conscience
fi delicate, qu'elle n'ose rien faire fa [i.e., fans] me
demander auparauant f'il y a du mal, Et fi dieu le

1666-68] LETTER FROM BRUY AS 141

if one could save only one soul, should one not go
Even to the end of the earth to seek it ? I advise all
the Canada proselytes to read often the letter in the
book of the Epistles of St. Francis Xavier, the [blank
space] of the second book ; or, above all, to meditate
well upon the [blank space] of the third book, which
may serve in the Instruction of all those who aspire
to the apostolic life.^ Your Reverence and all our
fathers who shall read this will be surprised that a
novice and Young missionary like me takes it upon
himself to give advice, and will think that it would
be more seemly to let those write who have grown
hoary in this calling. But I have written all these
things only to satisfy several of our fathers, who have
requested me, above all things, to write them the
plain truth, and not to disguise my story. Moreover,
I trust that Your Reverence will have the goodness
not to read my letter except in private to my friends ;
and that you will spare me the embarrassment that I
would experience, far away as I am, if I were still
made to preach in the Refectory, as I had to do two
years ago. One is Exempt from sermons after one's
studies; and I have Annoyed our Fathers enough
with my voice, without continuing to Weary them
with my letters.^''

I must add also this Edifying word : the niece of
that good Iroquois woman of whom I have spoken
has proved herself in no wise inferior to her Aunt.
I have learned something about her which is all the
more admirable as it is so rare amid the universal cor-
ruption of the Savages. She has Never violated her
conjugal faith to her husband, although she has been
often solicited to do so, and has even been deprived
of some charm, that she might be rendered barren;

142 LES RELATIONS DES J^SUITES [Vol.61

deffend. celuy dont lay parl6 cydessus lequel a est6
li fidelle a fa femme, n'est pas onnei^tronnon, mais il
demeure a Ganniege. Voila mon R. P. tout ce que
le puis escrire a V. R. £i dieu me faict la grace de
parler iroquois I'espere de luy fournir tous les ans de
quoy fentretenir auec fes amis, Je la fupplie de
m'obtenir de fa bonte 1' Intelligence dune langue qui
m'efb li neceffaire. le prie tous ceux a qui V. R.
lira cette lettre de demander a Dieu la mesme grace,
ils n'oublieront pas aussi nos pauures Iroquois, lis
font faict pour le ciel, & ils n'ont pas moins couste
a Jesus cbrist que nous, il pent les changer En un
moment, et faire des Enfans d'abraham de ces antro-
pophages, v. R. auancera ce moment par fes prieres,
mais ce que le luy demande fur toutes choses, eft de
fe fouuenir quelquefois de ce pauure folitaire aban-
donne dans une terre ingrate et barbare, et Expofe a
la iuereur d[es] peuples fans foy et fans mifericorde.
que le ne mette point d 'obstacle a leur conuerfion, ny
aux delTeins que Dieu a fur moy, le I'Embrasse de
tout mon Coeur dans le coeur de JC. & ie fuis
Mon reuerend Pere

fon tres humble et tres
obeissant feruiteur En N.S.
J. Bruyas.

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1666-68] LETTER FROM BRUY AS 143

but neither her barrenness, nor all the threats that have
been made against her, have been able to turn her
from her duty. She asked me, a long time ago, to
baptize her ; hers is a conscience so tender that she
ventures to do nothing without first asking me if there
is any wrong in it, And if God forbids it. The one
of whom I have spoken above, who was so faithful to
his wife, is not an onneioutronnon, but he lives at
Ganniege. This, my Reverend Father, is all that I
can write to Your Reverence. If God grant me the
grace to speak iroquois, I hope to furnish you every
year with something with which to entertain yourself
and your friends. I beg you to obtain for me from
his goodness the Knowledge of a language which is
so necessary to me. I pray all those to v/hom Your
Reverence shall read this letter to ask God for the
same grace. They will not forget also our poor
Iroquois. These people are made for heaven, and
are not less dear to Jesus Christ than we are. He
can change them In a moment, and make Children of
abraham from these cannibals ; Your Reverence will
hasten this moment by your prayers. But what I ask
you above all things is to remember sometimes
this poor solitary, abandoned in an ungrateful and
barbarous land, and Exposed to the fury of peoples
without faith and without mercy, that I may put no
obstacle in the way of their conversion, or of the
designs that God has for me. I Embrace you with
all my Heart in the heart of Jesus Christ, and I am,
My reverend Father,

Your very humble and very
obedient servant In Our Lord,
Jacques Bruyas.

144 LES RELA TIONS DES J&SUITES [Vol. 51

Journal des Peres Jesuites, Janvier a
juin, 1668.

w. Bourdon mort.

piece representee.

1668. lANUIER

LE i*^*". Le P. de Beaulieu a preche dans
n''^ Eglise, nimius in societatis n""*
laudibus.
Le 12. Mons''. Bourdon est mort, tres
Chrestiennement.

FEURIER

le 7. et 9. Le sage visionnaire est repre-
sent^ auec grand succez et satisfaction de tout
le monde : elle a agree la 2^. f ois autant que
la premiere.

Le 14. Les predicateurs des prieres de 40
heures ont este Mons*". Pommier, Le P. de
Carheil, et le P. Claude Pijart.

Le P. Dablon preche le caresme a la
paroisse, comme il a fait I'Aduent.

Le 19. Ariuee du P. lean Pierron d'Annie
auec Fran9ois Poisson et deux sauuages et
une femme, il vient pour informer de tout,
les esprits de ces peuples dans leur disposi-
tion ordinaire, nos Peres se porte*. bien et
instruisent paisiblement les peuples, ont bap-
tist vn nombre considerable d'enfans quelques
adultes la plus part malades.

1668-68] JOURNAL DES PP. /^SUITES

145

Journal of the Jesuit Fathers, January to

June, 1668.

1668, JANUARY.

THE I St. Father de Beaulieu preached in
our Church, nitnius in societatis nostrcg
laudibus.
The 1 2th. Monsieur Bourdon died a very Monsieur Bourdon,
Christian death.

deceased.

FEBRUARY.

The 7th and 9th. The play of Le sage visi-
onnaire was performed with great success and
to every one's satisfaction. It was as well
received the 2nd time as the first.

The 14th. The preachers during the 40
hours' devotion were Monsieur Pommier,
Father de Carheil, and Father Claude Pijart.

Father Dablon preached during lent in the
parish church, as he did during Advent.

The 19th. Arrival of Father Jean Pierron
from Anni6, with Frangois Poisson, two sav-
ages, and one woman. He came to give in-
formation about everything. The minds of
those people are in their usual disposition.
Our Fathers are in good health, and teach the
people in peace ; they have baptized a large
number of children, and some adults, most of
whom were ill.

Play presented.

146

LES RELA TIONS DES j£SUITES [Vol. 51

Profession du P.
pierron.

Examen du p. lulz'en

garfiter sur tie.
La thgie a 2}. ans —

Piece Latine.

Le P. Gar.

miss707inaire.

P. pierron a
BeauprL

p. Henry nouvel.

garnemens noyez.

Brevis terrcB moius.

MARS.

Le 5 . le p. lean Pierron fait sa profession
a la Messe de 7. heures; il a est6 demand6
Taumosne aux communaut6s et a quelques
particuliers des plus acomodez.

Le 13. Le P. lulien Garnier, qui n'a pas
encore 25. ans vient d'estre examine de toute
la Theologie selon la coustume de la Com-
pagnie. les 4. examinateurs ont est6 les PP.
Lalemant Pijart, dablon et Pierron.

Le 2 1 . M*"*^. Pierson fait representer une
petite latine sur la passion de nostre seigneur
qui a bien reussy.

Le 22. Le P. garnier va en Mission a la
Coste de lauson.

Le 22. Le P. lean Pierron va en mission a
la coste de Beaupre pour les festes de pasque.

AURIL.

le 2. Monsieur Petit arriue de Tadoussac
en esta^ party le vendredy auec des letres
amples et de consolation du P. Henry Nouuel
qui a pass6 I'hyuer en ces quartiers, ou il a eu
enuiron 200. ames.

le 1 1. Charles Boquet ariue d*onnei8t auec
son hoste, aya*. laisse une trentaine d'onnei^t
de leur bande au dessus de Mon-real.

4. personnes noy^es icy autour depuis
pasque vitae perditse.

Le 13. La terre a trembl6 notablement sur

1666-68] JOURNAL DES PP. jASUITES

147

MARCH.

The 5th. Father Jean Pierron pronounced
his final vows at the 7 o'clock Mass. He went
to ask alms from the communities, and from
some of the private individuals who have the
most means.

The 13th. Father Julien Garnier, who is
not yet 25 years of age, has just been exam-
ined in the whole of Theology, according to
the custom of the Society. The 4 exam-
iners were Fathers Lalemant, Pijart, dablon,
and Pierron,

The 2 1 St. Master Pierson had a short
latin play performed, on the passion of our
Lord; it was successful.

The 22nd. Father garnier went on a Mis-
sion to the Coste de lauson.

The 22nd. Father Jean Pierron went on
a mission to the coste de Beaupre, for the
easter festivals.

APRIL.

Father pierron

pronounces his final

vows.

Examination of

father Julien

garnier in the whole

of theology, at 25

years of age.

Latin play.

Father Garnier a
missionary.

Father pierron at
Beaupri.

Father Henry
nouvel.

The 2nd. Monsieur Petit arrived from
Tadoussac, whence he had started on friday,
with ample and comforting letters from Father
Henry Nouvel, who passed the winter in that
quarter, where he had about 200 souls under
his care.

The nth. Charles Boquet arrived from
Onneiout with his host, having left about
thirty Onneiout of their band above Mon-real.

4 persons have been drowned in this vicin-
ity since easter. Vitce perditce.

The 13th. The earth trembled perceptibly, Brevis terrae motus.

Scamps drowned.

148 LES RELA TIONS DES /^SUITES [\'ol. 61

les 8. heures du matin I'espace d'enuiron vn
miserere.
mort du Sr- giffart, Le 1 4. Mons"". giffart est mort, fort chres-

tiennement, assiste du P. de Carheil tout le
temps de sa maladie.

Le 16. II a este enterre sur le lieu au pied
de la croixdel'Egliseselon qu'il I'auoit desir6
nous auons assist^ 3. de nos Peres a ses
obseques auec Monseig. I'Euesque Mons''. de
Bernieres et Mons*". de Mesere I'officiant auec
les seminaristes, &c.
Voiage a la prairie Le 2 1 . Nous allons nous embarquer pour
pour Les concessions. ^^^^^^ ^^ j^ault, le P. Dablon, Caron, Charles

Panie, et moy pour La Prairie de la Magdel.
pour y conclure toutes les affaires et la maniere
d'y donner les concessions.
P. Marquette aux Le P. Marquette, deux hommes et un petit
atah'at. gar9on pour y attendre 1' occasion de monter

aux 8ta«aK.

Le P. lulien garnier et Charles Boquet,
pour aller secourir le P. Bruyas a onneib't.

MAY.

le 26. nous voila de retour de nostre
voyage de jSIonreal. Le P. garnier est party
des le 17. pour la mission des onneib't. Tout
commence bien a la prairie de la Magdelaine
il y a plus de 40. concessions donnees.

lUIN.

Monseigneur I'Euesque est descendu a
TadoussaK. pour donner la confirmation aux

1666-68] JOURNAL DES PP. /^SUITES

149

Death of sieur
giffart.

Voyage to la

prairte for The

concessions.

about 8 o'clock in the morning, for about the
space of a miserere.

The 14th. Monsieur giffart died a most
christian death ; he was attended throughout
his illness by Father de Carheil.

The 1 6th. He was buried on the spot at
the foot of the Church cross, as he had de-
sired. 3 of our Fathers attended his funeral,
with Monseigneur the Bishop, Monsieur de
Bernieres, and Monsieur de Mesere, who offi-
ciated with the seminarists, and others.

The 2 1 St. We are going to embark to go
up the river, namely: Father Dablon, Caron,
Charles Panic, and myself, to la Prairie de la
Magdelaine, there to conclude all affairs, and
to decide as to the manner of granting the
concessions;

Father Marquette, two men, and a young Father Marquette to
lad to await an opportunity of going to the
Outawak country;

Father Julien garnier and Charles Boquet,
to go and assist Father Bruyas at onneiout.

MAY.

The 26th. We have returned from our
voyage to Monreal. Father garnier left, on
the 17th, for the onneiout mission. Every-
thing commences well at la prairie de la
Magdelaine. Over 40 concessions have been
granted.

JUNE.

Monseigneur the Bishop went down to
Tadoussak to administer confirmation to the
savages. The Father wrote me from [blank

the Outawat.

150 LES RELA TIONS DES J^SUITES [Vol. 51

sauuages. le P. m'escrit du {blank space in
MS.'\ qu'il y a iusques a 400. asmes.
Le 21. Le P. Nicolas &c.

Remarque. H manque icy Le reste de L'ann^e 1668.

celle de 1669 Et 1670 jusqu'au mois de no-
vembre. La suite se trouve dans vn In folio
separ6, de La meme Ecriture que celle cy
dessus ; qui est du R. P. f r. Le mercier, Sup*"
pour La 2^. fois.

1666 -68J JOURNAL DES PP. J^SUITES 151

space in MS.'\ that there are as many as 400
souls.

The 2ist. Father Nicolas, etc.^^

The remainder of The year 1668, the whole Remark.

of the year 1669, And the year 1670 up to the
month of november, are missing. The con-
tinuation is contained in a separate folio, in
The same Writing as the above, which is that
of the Reverend Father fran9ois Le mercier,
then Superior for The 2nd time.

CXXIV

Relation of 1667-68

Paris: SEBASTIEN MABRE-CRAMOISY, 1669

Source : For the text, we follow a copy of the original
Cramoisy, in Lenox Library ; for the concluding letter of the
Mother Superior, the British Museum copy.

We present herewith, chaps. i,-viii.; the remainder will
appear in Volume LII.

I

ELATION

DECEQVI S'EST PASSE'
DE PLVS REMARQVABLE

AVX MISSIONS DES PERES
de la Compagnie deiiiSTs,

EN LA
NOVVELLE FRANCE.

aiix annees mi! fix ccns foixantc-fcpc
&:'rail fix ccnsfoixante-huir.

Unvoyce au R.P ..^STi^'n^n Dechamtj
Frouincial de la Province de France,

.#^-'

\

(

A PARIS,

Imprimcur du Rpy , rue S. Iacques>
aux Cicognes.

M. DC. LxIxT

Avec Privilege de j4 MmftL

i- --:.

.la

RELATION

OF WHAT OCCURRED

MOST REMARKABLE

IN THE MISSIONS OF THE FATHERS
of the Society of Jesus,

IN

NEW FRANCE,

in the years one thousand six hundred

sixty-seven and one thousand six

hundred sixty-eight.

Sent to Rev. Father EsTIENNE Dechamps,
Provincial of the Province of France.

PARIS,

Sebastien Mabre-Cramoisy,

Printer to the King, rue St. Jacques,

at the Sign of the Storks.

M. DC. LXIX.

By Royal Licejise.

158 LES RELATIONS DES J&SUITES [Vol.51

Av Reverend Pere Eftienne Dechamps, Provin-
cial de la Compagnie de Iesvs dans
la Province de France.

MON Reverend Pere,
Cette Relation fera voir les fruits de la Paix,
dont les cinq Nations Iroquoifes furent obligees de
nous rechercher V anyic'e dernier e, apres y avoir ejld con-
traintes par les troupes que fa Majefii nous avoit envoy^es;
qui ayant a leur tefie Monfieur de Tracy, auoient efli
porter la terreur & la defolation dans ce qu'il y avoit de
plus fier & de plus fuperbe parmy nos ennemis. Nos
Miffions qui d^slors y furent heureufe^nent comnienc^es par
fon authority, pour V affermiffement de la Paix, & pour
le falut des ames; s'y font multiplides avec tant de bon-
heur, que nous y avons cinq Miffions, dans toutes les
Nations Iroqtioifes; oft par la grace de Dieu, nous trou-
vons par tout des Chrefliens, Hurons & Algonquins, pris
autrefois en guerre, qui nous reclament, & qui reconnoiffent
la voix de ceux qui les ont baptifez. Le Roy continuant
fes bontez fur la Nouvelle France, y entretient toUfours
des troupes, pour maintejiir cette Paix; & la plufpart de
ceux qui devoient edre reformez, de foldats fe font faits
habitans fur le Pays; en forte que les forces y font
demeurdes quafi entieres, qui en peuplant la colonic, y don-
neront de nouveaux foldats tous faits pour le Pays, fans
aucutie depenfe, ny pour la folde, ny pour leur entretien.
Nous remercions V. R. du fecours des Mifjionnaires quelle
nous a envoyez; Nous vous en detnandons encore de

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 -68 169

To the Reverend Father Estienne Dechamps,

Provincial of the Society of Jesus

in the Province of France.

MY Reverend Father,
This Relation will present a viezu of the results
of the Peace which the five Iroquois Nations were
obliged to seek from us last year, after being constrained
thereto by the troops which his Majesty had sent us, and
which, with Monsieur de Tracy at their head, had carried
terror and desolation into the tribe who had been the proudest
ayid haughtiest among our enemies. Our Missio7is —
which since then have been auspiciously begun there under
his authority, for the strengthening of the Peace and the
saving of souls — have multiplied with such success that
we have five Missions, in all the Iroquois Nations; and
there, by the grace of God, we find Christians everywhere,
both Huron and Algotiquin, taken formerly in war, who
implore our aid, and recognize the voice of those who
baptized them. The King, continuing his bounties toward
New France, keeps troops there all the time, to maintain
this Peace; and the greater part of those who were to be
placed on half-pay have, from, soldiers, become settlers in
the Country. Thus the forces have remained Jiere almost
entire, — which, iyi peopling the colony, will give to it new
soldiers, entirely adapted to the Country, ivithout any
expense for either pay or maintenance. We thank Your
Reverence for the aid of the Missio?iaries whom you have
sent us, and we ask you for still more, — the tribes of these
regions being so scattered in all directions, to the distance

160 LES RELATIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol.51

furcroit, les peuples de ces contr^es ejlans tellement diffipez
de tous cojiez, ti quatre & h cinq cents lieu'es d'icy; que nous
fonimes contrains de fious dijjiper aujji 7ious-ine/mes, pour
alter porter par tout la liuniere de V Evangile, Nous
demandons pour cdt effet le fecours des prieres des gens de
bien, qui liront cette Relation, & celles de V. R.
MON REVEREND PERE,

Voftre tres-humble & tres-

obeyffant ferviteur en N. S.

FRANgOIS LE Mercier.

il

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 161

of four and five hundred leagues from here, that we are
obliged to scatter ourselves as well, in order to go and carry
the light of the Gospel everywhere. To this end we ask
the aid of the prayers of the good people who shall read
this Relation, and of those of Your Reverence.
MY REVEREND FATHER,

Your very humble and very
obedient servant in Our Lord,
FRANgois LE Mercier.

162 LES RELATIONS DES jiSUITES [Vol.51

Table des Chapitres.

Chap. I. 1 "^ES avantages qu on retire de la

J J paix faite avec les Iroquois. . i.

Chap. II. De la Mifiion de fainte Marie

chez les Iroquois d' AgniL . . . i^.

Art. I. Voyage de trois Peres lefuites chez

les Iroquois Inferieurs. . . . i6.

Art. II. Premier Baptefnie confer^ a vne

femme Iroquoise. . . . 25.

Art. III. Rude //>reuve d'une autre femme

Iroqiioife apr^s fon Baptefme. . . 28.

Art. IV. De la reception des Peres dans les
autres Bourgadcs Iroquoifes, & d'un celebre
Confeil qui y fut tenu aprds leur arriude. 4.1.

Art. V. Dc F ejiabliffement du Chrijiianifme

dans le pais des Iroquois d'Agnid. . 50.

Art. VI. De Tyvrognerie des Iroquois d'Agnid

& de fes malheureux effets. . . ^8.

Chap. III. De la Mifiion de S. Francois Xauier

chez les Iroquois d' Onneiout. . . . 6^.

Chap. IV. De la Mifiion de S. Jean Baptijle, aux

Iroquois d' Onnontae. .... 80.

Art. I. Pre/ens f aits par Garakontie Ainbaf-

fadeur des Iroquois d' Onnontad. . 8^.

Refponfes donndes le 27, Aouft 1668. aux pa-
roles des Iroquois dc la Nation d' Onnonta-
gud porte'es par le Capitainc GaraKontid. . 8p.

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 - 68 163

Table of Chapters.

Chap. I. /^"^F the advantages derived froyn t lie

\^_y peace made with the Iroquois. i.
Chap. II. Of the Mission of saint e Marie

among the Iroquois of Agnie. . . /^.

Art. I. Journey of three fesuit Fathers to the

Lower Iroquois. .... 16.

Art. II. First Baptism conferred on an Iro-
quois woman. .... 25.

Art. III. Severe trial of another Iroquois

woman after her Baptism. . . 28.

Art. IV. Of the reception of the Fathers in
the other Iroquois Villages, and of a not-
able Council which ivas held there after
their arrival. . . . . /j.i .

Art. V. Of the establishment of Christianity

in the country of the Iroquois of AgniL . 50.

Art. VI. Of the drunkenness of the Iroquois

of Agni^, and its unfortunate effects. . j8.

Chap. III. Of the Mission of St. Francis Xavier

among the Iroquois of Onneiout. . . <5j.

Chap. IV. Of the Mission of St. Jean Baptiste

among the Iroquois of Onnonta^. . . 80.

Art. I. Presents given by Garakontie, Am-
bassador from the Iroquois of Onnontad. 85.

Anstvers given on the 2jth of August, 1668, to
the words of the Iroquois of the Onnontagud
Nation, brought by Captain Garakontie'. 8g.

164 LES RELA TIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol. 51

Art. II. Heureiifes rencontres pour le Bap-

tefme d'un Iroquois. . . . g6.

Chap. V. De la Mijlion de S. lofeph chez les
Iroquois d'Otogouen, & de celle d'une Colonie
d' Oiogouens nouvellevient ejiablie fur les Cojles
du Nord du Lac Ontario. . . . loo.

Chap. VI. De la Mif^ion du S. Efprit aux Outa-

oiiacs. ..... /oj.

Chap. VII. De la Mif^ion de Tado2iffac. . ///.

Chap. VIII. Arriue'e de Mon/eigneur V Evefque

de Petr^e a Tadouffac pour y faire fa vifite. . 120,
Chap. IX. De V Eglife des Hurons a Quebec, . 126.
Art. I. Converfion remarquable d" une jeune
femme venue des Hiroquois a Quebec, expr^s
pour s'y faire Baptifer. . . . /jo.

Art. II. Mort precieufe & admirable d'utie

file Sauvage, age de i^. a)is. . . ij6.

Lettre de Monfieur I Eve f que de Petrde a Mo?i-

fieur Poittevin Cure de S. loffe a Paris, [/j^.]
Chap. Der. De la Mifsion de S. Michel dans la

cinquiane Nation des Iroquois a Sonnontoiian. 16^.
Lettre Circulaire de la Sainte mort, d'une Religieuse

Hofpitaliere de Quebec. . . . i6S.

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 - 68 165

Art. II. Occurrences fortunate for the Bap-

tis7n of an Iroquois . . . . p6.

Chap. V. Of the Missioft of St. foseph among the

Iroquois of Oiogouen, and of that to a Colony of

Oiogouens recently established on the North

Shore of Lake Ontario. . . . 100.

Chap. VI. Of the Mission of St. Esprit among

the Outaouacs. .... loj.

Chap. VII. Of the Mission of Tadoussac. . in.

Chap. VIII. Arrival of Monseigneur the Bishop
of Petrcea at Tadoussac for the purpose of mak-
ing his visit there. .... 120.
Chap. IX. Of the Church of the Hurons at Quebec. 126.
Art. I. Remarkable conversion of a young
woman who came frojn the Hiroquois to
Quebec, expressly to be Baptized there, ijo.
Art. II. Precious and admirable death of a

Savage girl 14. years old. . . ij6.

Letter from Monsieur the Bishop of Petraa to
Monsieur Poittevin, Cur^ of St. fosse, at
Paris. .... {.154-'^

Chap. Last. Of the Mission of St. Michel in the

fifth Nation of the Iroquois at Sonnontouan. 165.
Circular Letter on the Holy death of a Hospital Nun

of Quebec. ..... 168.

166 LES RELA TIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol. 51

[I] Relation de ce qvi s'eft paffe dans la Nov-
velle-France es annees 1667. & 1668.

CHAPITRE I.

DES AVANTAGES QU'ON RETIRE DE LA PAIX FAITE AVEC

LES IROQUOIS.

NOVS avons commence depuis phis d'un an k
joliir des fruits de la paix, & a goufter les
douceurs du repos que les armes de fa Ma-
jefl^ nous ont procure par la foumiffion des Iroquois.

[2] II fait beau voir a prefent prefque tous les
rivages de noftre Fleuve de S. Laurent habites de
nouvelles colonies, qui vont s'eftendant fur plus de
quatre-vingt-lieues de pais le long des bords de cette
grande Riviere, ou Ton voit naitre d'efpace en efpace
de nouvelles Bourgades qui facilitent la navigation,
la rendant & plus agreable par la veue de quantity
de maifons, & plus commode par de frequens lieux
de repos.

C'efl ce qui caufe un changement notable en ce
pais par les accroiffemens qui s'y font faits, plus
grands, depuis qu'il a pleu au Roy d'y envoyer des
troupes, qu'il n'en avoit receu dans tout le temps
paffe, & par I'eftabliffement de plus de trois cents
families [3] en affes peu de temps; les Mariages
eftans fi frequens que depuis trois ans on en a fait
quatre vingt-treize dans la feule Parroiffe de Quebec.

La crainte des ennemis n'empeche plus nos Labou-

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 167

[i] Relation of what occurred in New France
in the years 1667 and 1668.

CHAPTER I.

OF THE ADVANTAGES DERIVED FROM THE PEACE MADE
WITH THE IROQUOIS.

WE began more than a year ago to enjoy the
fruits of peace, and taste the sweets of
repose, procured for us by the arms of his
Majesty through the subjection of the Iroquois.

[2] It is pleasant to see now almost the entire ex-
tent of the shores of our River St. Lawrence settled
by new colonies, which continue to spread over more
than eighty leagues of territory along the shores of
this great River, where new Hamlets are seen spring-
ing up here and there, which facilitate navigation —
rendering it more agreeable by the sight of numerous
houses, and more convenient by frequent resting-
places.

This causes a notable change in the country, both
through its increased extent — which has been greater
since the King has been pleased to send hither troops,
of which it had received none in the past — and
through the settlement of more than three hundred
families [3] in a comparatively short time ; and Mar-
riages are so frequent that, in the last three years,
ninety-three have occurred in the Parish of Quebec
alone.

168 LES RELA TIONS DES jASUITES [Vol. 51

reurs de faire reculer les forefts, & de charger leurs
terres de toutes fortes de grains, dont elles fe trou-
vent capables autant que celles de France, quand on
leur donnera une femblable culture. Nos Chaffeurs
vont bien loin en toute affurance courir I'Orignal,
avec un profit fignal6 qu'ils retirent de cette chaffe.
Les Sauvages nos allies ne craignans plus d'eftre
furpris en chemin, nous viennent chercher de tons
coft6s de cinq & fix cents lieues d'icy, ou pour refta-
blir leurs commerces interrompus [4] par les guerres,
ou pour en commencer de nouveaux, comme preten-
dent faire des peuples fort eloignes, qui n'avoient
jamais paru icy, & qui font venus cet Efte dernier
pour ce fujet.

Les Iroquois meme, comme s'ils ceffoient d'eftre
& Sauvages & Iroquois, rempliffent quelques-unes
de nos habitations, pendant une bonne partie de
I'ann^e, & font leur traite avec nos Frangois, avec
toute la privaute fouhaitable, & ils feroient bien plus,
& meme fe viendroient habituer parmy nous, fi la
guerre qu'ils ont avec une nation qu'on appelle les
Loups, ne les empechoit pas de venir en affurance
chez nous.

Ces biens dureront autant que la paix, & celle-cy
autant que les [5] Iroquois feront en crainte, dans
laquelle il eft important de les maintenir, fi Ton veut
pouffer I'etabliffement des Colonies, qui ont pris de
fi heureux commencemens.

C'eft &. quoy travaille fortement Monfieur de Cour-
celle Gouverneur de tout ce pays, qui ayant iett6 les
premieres frayeurs dans les terres des ennemis par fes
marches fi hardies, les y maintient par I'apprehenfion
de quelque femblable defaftre, n'y ayant rien qu'ils

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 169

Fear of the enemy no longer prevents our Labor-
ers from causing the forests to recede, and from
sowing their fields with all sorts of grain, to which
the soil is as well suited as is that of France, if it
only receives similar cultivation. Our Hunters go
to a great distance in perfect safety to hunt the
Moose, a pursuit which brings them in extraordinary
profit. The Savages, our allies, no longer fearing
that they will be surprised on the road, come in quest
of us from all directions, from a distance of five and six
hundred leagues, — either to reestablish their trade,
interrupted [4] by the wars ; or to open new commer-
cial dealings, as some very remote tribes claim to do,
who had never before made their appearance here,
and who came last Summer for that purpose.

Even the Iroquois, as if they had ceased to be Sav-
ages and Iroquois, fill some of our settlements during
a good part of the year>, and carry on their traffic with
our Frenchmen with all the familiarity that could be
desired. They would do much more, and would
even come and make themselves at home among us,
if the war which they are carrying on with a tribe
called the Loups did not prevent them from coming
to us with safety.

These blessings will continue so long as peace
continues, and the latter so long as the [5] Iroquois
are kept in a state of fear, — in which it is important
to keep them, if we wish to continue the planting of
Colonies which have had such auspicious beginnings.

It is to effect this that Monsieur de Courcelle, Gov-
ernor of all this region, is making strenuous exer-
tions; for, having spread the first alarms in the
enemy's territory by his bold marches, he maintains
them therein by the fear of some similar disaster;

170 LES RELA TIONS DES JESUITES [Vol. 51

ne doivent craindre d'un courage egal au fien, & dont
ils ont eu des preuves fi eftonnantes.

Pendant qu'il conferve les Iroquois en paix par
Tapprehenfion de la guerre & par la confervation des
Forts de fainte Anne & de faint lean, dont la proxi-
mite [6] les retient dans la crainte & dans leur devoir,

Monfieur Talon Intendant pour le Roy n'a point
ce{16 d'appliquer tous fes foins pour le bien univerfel
de ce pais, pour la culture des terres, pour les decou-
vertes des mines, pour les avantages des negoces &
pour toutes les commodites qui peuvent fervir ^
retablillement & "k I'agradiffement de cette Colonic,
deforte que nous regreterions beaucoup plus fon
retour en France, fi nous n'avions eu Monfieur de
Boutroiie fon fucceffeur. C'efl tout ce que nous
pouvons fouhaiter d'avantageux pour bien reparer
cette perte.

Ce font des obligations toutes nouvelles dont noftre
Canada eft infiniment redevable k fa Majefte, qui par
une bonte tout k fait Royale [7] a change la face de
ce pays, par ces puillans fecours qu'il y a fait paffer
avec de fi grandes depenfes: entre autres le Regi-
ment de Carignan Salieres, dont bon nombre d'Offi-
ciers & plus de 400. Soldats ont grofli la Colonic,
s'eftans faits habitans avec de tres avantageufes
conditions : car on a donne \ chacun des Soldats cent
francs, ou cinquante liures auec les vivres d'une
annee, "k fon choix: & cinquante efcus au Sergent,
ou cent francs avec les vivres d'une annee, auffi k
fon choix ; ce qui eft caufe que fort peu retournent
en France avec Monfieur de Salieres Colonel dudit
Regiment; qui apr^s avoir blanchi dans les armies
de France, oil il s'eft fait affes connoiftre, eft venu

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 -68 171

for there is nothing which they may not apprehend
from a courage like his, of which they have had such
astonishing proofs.

Meanwhile, he keeps the Iroquois at peace by the
fear of war, and by the maintenance of the Forts of
sainte Anne and saint Jean, — the proximity of which
[6] retains them in a state of alarm, and in respectful
attitude.

Monsieur Talon, Intendant for the King, has not
ceased to exert every effort for the general good of
this country, for the cultivation of its fields, the
discovery of mines, the promotion of commerce, and
for every advantage that can conduce to the estab-
lishment and enlargement of this Colony. Conse-
quently, we would regret much more his return to
France, if we did not have as his successor Monsieur
Boutroue,^^ who is all that we could wish for to
make good the loss.

These are favors of quite recent occurrence for
which our Canada is under infinite obligations to his
Majesty — who, with a kindness altogether Royal,
[7] has changed the face of this country by means of
that powerful succor which he has sent it at so great
expense. Among other forces may be mentioned
the Regiment of Carignan-Salieres, of which a good
number of the Officers, and more than 400 Soldiers,
have increased the Colony by becoming settlers,
under very advantageous conditions. Each one of
the Soldiers has been given a hundred francs, or fifty
livres with rations for a year, at his choice ; and each
Sergeant fifty crowns, or a hundred francs with
rations for a year, likewise at his choice. For that
reason, very few are going back to France with
Monsieur de Salieres, Colonel of the said Regiment, —

172 LES RELA TIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol. 51

icy prendre part k la gloire de la redudtion des [8]
Iroquois, defquels il en a emmen6 cinq de diverfes
nations, meme de celle d'Andafto^, pour les prefenter
au Roy.

On commence aiiffi "k s'appliquer k nos Sauvages
d'icy; car depuis quelques Conferences que Monfieur
Talon a eiies fur les intentions du Roy, expliqu6es
par les d^pefches receues de Monfieur Colbert, en ce
qui regarde 1' education des Sauvages, & leur confor-
mite h. nos moeurs; Monfeigneur I'Euefque de
Petr6e, & les Peres lefuites ont deja mis dans leurs
Seminaires un nombre de petits gar9ons Sauvages,
pour y eftre Aleves avec les enf ans Fran§ois : ce que
MelTieurs les Ecclefiaftiques qui font au Mont- Royal
ont auffi pris refolution de faire, comme encor
Monfieur Talon, [9] qui eft dans le deffein de faire
elever cinq petites filles dans le vSeminaire des Meres
Vrfulines.

Et parce qu'un pai's ne pent pas fe former entiere-
ment fans raffiflance des Manufactures, nous voyous
d6ja celle des foulliers, & des chapeaux commencees;
celle des toilles & des cuirs projetees, & on attend
que la multiplication qui fe fait des moutons, produife
fufitifament des laines, pour introduire celle des
draps, & c'eft ce que nous efperons dans peu, puifque
les beftiaux fe peuplent icy abondamment, entr'autres
les cheuaux, qui commencent h. fe diftribuer dans
tout le pais.

La Brafferie que Monfieur Talon fait conllruire,
ne feruira pas peu auffi pour la commodite publique,
foit pour I'efpargne des [10] boiffons enyurantes, qui
caufent icy des grands defordres, aufquels on pourra
obuier par cette autre boiffon qui eft tres faine &

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 173

who, after growing gray in the armies of France,
where he made himself very well known, came over
here to take part in the glory of subjecting the [8]
Iroquois. Of these savages he has taken with him
five, of different tribes, and even from that of Andas-
toe, to present them to the King.

We have begun also to pay some attention to our
Savages here ; for since some Conferences that Mon-
sieur Talon had concerning the King's intentions,
which were explained by the despatches received
from Monsieur Colbert, regarding the education of
the Savages and their conformity to our customs,
Monseigneur the Bishop of Petraea and the Jesuit
Fathers have already placed a number of little Sav-
age boys in their Seminaries, to be brought up there
with the French children. This, too, the Gentlemen
of the Clergy who are at Mont-Royal have resolved
to do, as has also Monsieur Talon, [9] who intends
to have five little girls brought up in the Seminary of
the Ursuline Mothers.

Moreover since a country cannot be built up en-
tirely without the help of Manufactures, we already
see that of shoes and hats begun, and those of linen
and leather planned ; and it is expected that the
steady increase in sheep will produce sufficient wool
to introduce that of woolen goods. That is what we
are hoping for in a little while, since animals are
becoming abundant here, especially horses, which
are beginning to spread throughout the entire country.

The Brewery which Monsieur Talon is having
built will also contribute not a little to the public
welfare, by causing a decrease in the use of [10] in-
toxicating drinks, which occasion great lawlessness
here; that can be obviated by using this other drink,

174 LES RELATIONS DBS JJSSUITES [Vol.51

non mal-faifante; foit pour conferver I'argent dans
le pais, qui s'en divertit par I'achapt qu'on fait en
France de tant de boiffons; foit enfin pour confumer
le furabondant des bleds, qui fe font trouv6s
quelquefois en telle quantite, que les Laboureurs
n'en pouvoient avoir le debit.

Mais quoy que tout ce que nous avons dit, foit bien
confiderable pour faire paroitre les fruits de la paix ;
c'eft pen neanmoins en comparaifon des avantages
qu'elle donne pour la converfion de tous les Sauvages
de ces contrees. C'eft ce qu'on verra dans cette
Relation par le reftabliffement des [i i] Millions, dont
la guerre avoit arrefte le cours : fix Peres lefuites
font epars dans toutes les Nations Iroquoifes, & y
ont deja reftably quatre Eglifes confiderables, &
baptife plus de cent cinquante perfonnes, outre
cinquante autres Iroquois prefque tous Adultes, qui
ont efte baptifes a Quebec.

Quatre autres lefuites font a courir a plus de quatre
cens lieues d'ic}^ dans les Miffions des Outaoiiacs, oh
ils ont preche I'Evangile a plus de vingt-cinq Nations
differentes; & receu k I'Eglife par le faint Baptefme,
plus de quatre-vingt perfonnes cette derniere ann^e.

Deux autres Peres defcendent a Tadouffac, I'un
pour y hiverner & cultiver cette Eglife, qui s'eft
acriie de quarante Neophytes, & [12] I'autre pour
donner commencement a celle des Gafpeliens, qui fe
reiiniffent par la commodite que leur en donne la
paix.

Mais parce que la moilfon devient plus ample que
iamais dans une fi vafte eftendue de pais, & parmy
tant de Nations differentes, ou il nous eft permis
d'aller maintenant ; la Providence divine y a pourveu

1 666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 - 68 175

which is very wholesome and not injurious. More-
over, it will keep in the country the money which is
now sent out of it in the purchase of so much liquor
in France. It will also promote the consumption of
the superabundance of grain, which has sometimes
been so great that the Laborers could not find a
market for it.

But. although all this that we have said may be
well worth consideration in giving a view of the
fruits of the peace, it is yet little in comparison with
the advantages afforded by it for the conversion of
all the Savages in these regions. This may be seen
in this Relation, in the reestablishment of the [11]
Missions whose progress had been interrupted by the
war. Six Jesuit Fathers are dispersed through all
the Iroquois Nations, and have already rebuilt there
four considerable Churches ; they have also baptized
more than a hundred and fifty persons, — besides fifty
other Iroquois, almost all Adults, who have been
baptized at Quebec.

Four other Jesuits are engaged in the Missions of
the Outaouacs, more than four hundred leagues from
here ; they have there preached the Gospel to more
than twenty-five different Nations, and received into
the Church by holy Baptism more than eighty
persons during the past year.

Two other Fathers go down to Tadoussac, — one
to pass the winter there, and build up that Church,
which has gained an increase of forty Neophytes;
and [12] the other to begin that of the Gaspesians,
who are being reunited through the opportunity
given them by the peace.

But, because the harvest is becoming more ample
than ever in so vast an extent of territory, and among

176 LES RELATIONS DES J&SUITES [Vol.51

d'tine fafon particuliere, parceque d'un cofte elle a
augments le Seminaire de Monfeigneur I'Evefque de
Petr6e eftably ^ Quebec, de quelques Ecclefiaftiques,
partie du pais, partie venus de France, pour fe
joindre k ceux qui cultivent tant de Colonies diffe-
rentes, avec un zele pareil ^ celuy qui les a fait
mdprifer les douceurs de la France, pour fe venir
confumer icy par des travaux inconcevables.

[13] Et d'un autre cofte cette mefme Providence
nous a fourny un puiffant renfort par la venue de
Monfieur I'Abbe de Queylus, avec plufieurs Eccle-
fiaftiques tires du Seminaire de S. Sulpice, lefquels
vont joindre a Mont-Royal ceux qui y font, & dont
deux ont efte enuoies par Monfeigneur de Petr^e cet
Eft6 dernier, ^ une peuplade des Iroquois d'Oiogoiien,
qui fe font places depuis peu fur les rives du Nort
du grand Lac Ontario.

On ne pent efperer de tant de braves Miffionnaires
que de tres-heureux fucc6s, defquels ce pais fera
encor redevable au Roy, qui poufle avec bien plus
d'ardeur I'agrandiffement du Royaume de Iesvs-
Christ, que I'etendue de fes Eftats. Et nous ne
doutons point [14] que Dieu n'ait voulu adjouter ce
bon-heur k la gloire de noftre grand Monarque, de
fe fervir de luy & de fes Armes, pour faire part de
fon pretieux fang k tous les peuples de ce pais, &
dont quatre cens Sauvages qui ont efl6 baptifes cette
annee, reffentent deja les effets, ainfi qu'on va le
d6clarer plus en detail.

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 -68 1 77

the many different Nations to whom we are now per-
mitted to go, divine Providence has made especial
provision to meet it. On the one hand, it has enlarged
the Seminary of Monseigneur the Bishop of Petrsea,
established at Quebec, by the addition of several Ec-
clesiastics — partly from the country and partly from
France. These have come to join those who are
promoting so many different Colonies with a zeal
equal to that which made them despise the luxuries
of France, in order to come and spend themselves here
in incredible labors.

[13] On the other hand, this same Providence has
furnished us a strong reinforcement by the coming
of Monsieur the Abb6 de Queylus, with several of
the Clergy drawn from the Seminary of St. Sulpice.
They are going to Mont- Royal to join those now resid-
ing there, two from whose number were sent this last
Summer by Monseigneur of Petraea to a colony of the
Iroquois of Oiogouen, who have settled recently on
the North shore of the great Lake Ontario. ^^

We can expect only very happy results from the
labors of so many brave Missionaries, for whom this
country will be under still further obligations to the
King, who is promoting the aggrandizement of the
Kingdom of Jesus Christ with much greater ardor
than he does the enlargement of his own Estates.
We do not doubt [14] that it was God's will to add to
the glory of our great Monarch this good fortune, of
using him and his Arms in order to make all the
peoples of this country participants in our Lord's
precious blood, — the effects of which are already
being experienced by four hundred Savages, who
have been baptized this year, as will be shown more
in detail.

178 LES RELA TIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol. 51

CHAPITRE II

de la mission de sainte marie chez les iroquois

d'agnie.

LES Peres Fremin, Pierron & Bruyas, eftants
partis des le mois de luillet de Tannee 1667.
pour aller chez les Iroquois inferieurs, y renou-
veler les Miffions que les guerres avoient interrom-
pues, [15] «& ayant efte arreftes long-temps dans le
Fort fainte- Anne kr entree du Lac Champlain, par la
crainte d'une bande de Sauvages Mahingans, que
nous apellons les Loups, ennemis des Iroquois ; par-
tirent enfin de ce Fort, refolus de courir les memes
rifques, & paffer par les memes dangers que fubi-
roient les Ambaffadeurs Iroquois, avec lefquels ils
alloient de compagnie en leur pais. Nous ne pou-
vons pas donner une plus nette connoiffance de leur
voyage, de leur arrivee, de leur reception, & des
fruits qu'ils y ont commence de faire pour planter la
Foy dans ces terres defertes & barbares, qu'en les
entendant parler dans leur lournal, qu'ils en ont
dreff6 depuis leur depart iufqu'^ leur demeure fixe &
arreftee das les Bourgades [16] Iroquoifes. Voicy
comme il commence.

ARTICLE I. VOYAGE DE TROIS PERES lESUITES CHEZ
LES IROQUOIS INFERIEURS. :

LE retardement que la crainte de la nation des
Loups nous a fait faire dans les Forts, nous
ayant donn6 la commodite d'y rendre quelque fervice

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 179

CHAPTER II.

OF THE MISSION OF SAINTE MARIE AMONG THE IRO-
QUOIS OF AGNIE.

THE Fathers Fremin, Pierron, and Bruyas, having
set out in July of the year 1667, to go to the
lower Iroquois, in order to restore the Missions
there which the wars had discontinued; [15] and
having been detained a long time in Fort sainte Anne,
at the entrance to Lake Champlain, by the fear of a
band of Mahingan Savages, — called by us the Loups,
who are enemies of the Iroquois, — left this Fort
at last, resolved to run the same risks and pass
through the same dangers as were to be encountered
by the Iroquois Ambassadors, in whose company they
were going to their country. We cannot give a
clearer knowledge of their journey, their arrival,
their reception, and the success they have begun to
realize in planting the Faith in these desert and bar-
barous regions, than by listening to their own account
in the Journal which they kept from their departure
up to their fixed and permanent abode in the [16]
Iroquois Villages. ^^ It begins thus :

ARTICLE I. JOURNEY OF THREE JESUIT FATHERS TO
THE LOWER IROQUOIS.

THE delay which our fear of the nation of the
Loups caused us to make in the Forts gave us
an opportunity of rendering some service there to the

180 LES RELATIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol.61

aux Soldats, par nne efpece de Miffion que nous leur
avons faite ; enfin nous nous embarquames la veille
de S. Barthelemy fur les quatre heures du foir, pour
aller prendre gifte k une lieue du dernier Fort des
Francois, qui eft celuy de fainte Anne, & depuis,
tant de iour que de nuit, nous pourfuivimes heu-
reufement noltre voyage fans d^couvrir [17] aucune
pifte des ennemis. lis avoient pris le cofte du Sud
pour retourner en leur pais, & nous tenions le cofl:6
du Nord dans le Lac de Champlain.

Nous avons admir6 d'abord le foin que nos Iroquois
Chrefliens avoient de prier Dieu tous enfemble, auffi-
tofl; apres I'embarquement, nonobil:ant qu'ils euflent
affifte h. la fainte Melle que nous difions tous les jours
de grand matin. Ces prieres achevees, nous nous
mettions tous a ramer comme de pauvres forgats
depuis le matin jufqu'au foir; pas un de nous trois
n'avoit appris ce mellier; mais le peu de monde qu'il
y avoit avec nous pour porter les travaux neceffaires,
nous obligeoit k nous y engager. Nous traverfames
gayement tout ce grand Lac, deja trop [18] renomm6
par le naufrage de plufieurs de nos Franjois, & tout
fraichement par celuy du fieur Corlart commandant
d'un Hameau des Hollandois proche d'Agnie, qui
venant a Quebec pour y traiter de quelques affaires
importantes, fut noye en traverfant une grande baye,
ou il fut furpris de I'orage.

Nous arrivames h. trois quarts de lieue du Sault, oil
fe decharge le Lac du S. Sacrement: Nous nous
arreftames tous en cet endroit, fans en fgavoir la
cause, finon quand nous vifmes nos Sauvages ramafler
fur le bord de I'eau des pierres k fuzil prefque toutes
taillees. Nous ne fifmes point pour lors de reflexion

1

1666 - 68] RELA TJON OF 1667 -68 181

Soldiers, by a kind of Mission that we gave them.
But at last, on the eve of St. Bartholomew's day,
about four o'clock in the afternoon, we embarked to
go and take shelter at a league's distance from the
last Fort of the French, which is that of sainte Anne;
and thereafter we went on our way, both day and
night, without any mishap, and without discovering
[17] any trace of the enemy. They had taken a
Southerly direction, to return to their own country,
while we kept to the Northern part of Lake Cham-
plain.

We admired at the outset the care that our Chris-
tian Iroquois had to pray to God, all together, imme-
diately after embarking, although they had been
present at holy Mass, which we celebrated very early
every morning. These prayers finished, we all set
about paddling, like poor galley-slaves, from morning
until evening. Not one of us three had learned this
exercise, but, because we had so few men for perform-
ing the necessary work, we were obliged to take part
therein. We gaily crossed this entire great Lake,
which is already too [18] renowned by reason of the
shipwreck of several of our Frenchmen, and, quite
recently, by that of sieur Corlart, commandant of a
Hamlet of the Dutch near Agnie, — who, on his way
to Quebec for the purpose of negotiating some impor-
tant affairs, was drowned while crossing a large bay,
where he was surprised by a storm. ^^

Arriving within three-quarters of a league of the
Falls by which Lake St. Sacrement empties, we all
halted at this spot, without knowing why, until we
saw our Savages at the water-side gathering up flints,
which were almost all cut into shape. We did not

182 LES RELATIONS DES J£SUITES [Vol. 51

^ cela ; mais depuis nous en-avons fceu le myflere ;
car nos Iroquois nous ont dit qu'ils ne manquent
jamais de s'arrefler en cet [19] endroit, pour rendre
hommage k une nation d'hommes invifibles, qui
habitant Ik, dans le fond de I'eau, & s'occupent h.
preparer des pierres k fufil, prefque toutes taillees,
aux paffans, pourueu qu'ils leur rendent leurs deuoirs
en leur prefentant du petun: s'ils en donnent beau-
coup, ils leur font grande largeffe de ces pierres: Ces
hommes marins vont en canot comme les Iroquois,
& quand leur grand Capitaine vient k fe jetter k I'eau
pour entrer en fon Palais, il fait un fi grand bruit,
qu'il remplit de frayeur I'efprit de ceux qui n'ont
pas connoiffance de ce grand Genie, & de ces petits
hommes. Au recit de cette fable que nous en firent
fort f erieufement nos Iroquois, nous leur demandames
s'ils ne donnoient pas auffi [20] h. petuner au grand
genie du Ciel, & k ceux qui demeurent auec luy? lis
refpondiret qu'ils n'en auoient pas befoin comme
ceux de la terre. L'occafion de ce conte fi ridicule
eft qu'en verite le Lac eft agite fouvent de tres
horribles tempeftes, qui caufent de furieufes lames,
fur tout dans le baffin oil le fieur Corlart, dont nous
venons de parler, eft pery, & quand le vent vient du
cofte du Lac, il pouffe fur ce rivage quantite de
pierres dures & propres h. faire du feu.

le paffay vne belle Ardoifiere, dit vn des trois
Peres, que nous avons trouuee a cinq lieues du Lac
du S. Sacrament, k la portee du canon d'un petit Iflet
de 20. pieds environ de diametre. Elle n'eft pas de
la nature de toutes [21] celles que i'ay vues fur les
rivages de la mer, ou aux environs de Quebec, qui
n'ont que de I'apparence; mais celle-cy eft toute

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 - 68 183

at that time reflect upon this, but have since then
learned the meaning of the mystery ; for our Iroquois
told us that they never fail to halt at this [19] place,
to pay homage to a race of invisible men who dwell
there at the bottom of the lake. These beings oc-
cupy themselves in preparing flints, nearly all cut,
for the passers-by, provided the latter pay their
respects to them by giving them tobacco. If they
give these beings much of it, the latter give them
a liberal supply of these stones. These water-
men travel in canoes, as do the Iroquois; and, when
their great Captain proceeds to throw himself into
the water to enter his Palace, he makes so loud a
noise that he fills with fear the minds of those who
have no knowledge of this great Spirit and of these
little men. At the recital of this fable, which our
Iroquois told us in all seriousness, we asked them if
they did not also give [20] some tobacco to the great
spirit of Heaven, and to those who dwell with him.
The answer was that they do not need any, as do
people on the earth. The occasion of this ridiculous
story is the fact that the Lake is, in reality, often
agitated by very frightful tempests, which cause
fearful waves, especially in the basin where sieur
Corlart, of whom we have just spoken, met his death ;
and when the wind comes from the direction of the
Lake, it drives on this beach a quantity of stones
which are hard, and capable of striking fire.

" I passed a fine Slate-quarry," says one of the
three Fathers, " that we found five leagues from
Lake St. Sacrement, a cannon-shot from a little
Islet of about 20 feet in diameter. This quarry is
not of the nature of all [21] those that I have seen on

184 LES RELA TIONS DES jASUITES [Vol. 51

femblable ^ celles que i'ay veue dans les Ardennes
de noftre France; La couleur efl d'lin beau bleu; les
lames fe levent aifement fi grandes, & fi petites qu'on
veut, fort tendres & fort douces.

Pendant que ie m'areftay ^ cette Ardoifiere, nos
matelots debarquants au bout du Lac du S. Sacre-
ment, & fe preparants au portage, qui eft d'une
petite demi-lieue au trauers des bois; chacun fe
charge des hardes & des canots ; dans lefquels nous
eftants rembarques, enfin apres quelques coups d'avi-
rons, nous les quitames, bien ioyeux d'eftre heureufe-
ment arriues au bout du Lac, [22] d'oti il ne nous
reftoit plus que trente lieues de chemin par terre,
pour nous rendre au terme, ou nous afpirions depuis
fi long temps.

Tout le pais des Iroquois eftoit alors dans des
apprehenfions fi eflonnantes d'une nouvelle armee
des Fran9ois, que depuis plufieurs jours quatorze
gueriers eftoient continuellement en fentinelle, a
I'entr^e de ce Lac, pour decouvrir la marche de cette
arm^e, & pour en porter en diligence les nouvelles h.
toute la Nation; afin de luy venir dreffer des em-
buches dans les bois, k la faveur defquels ils preten-
doient I'ataquer auantageufement & la harceler dans
les defiles. II y auoit done 1^ vne troifieme bande
poftee k fon tour, pour faire ces decouvertes; [23]
mais par un grand bon-heur pour eux & pour nous,
au lieu d'ennemis, nous leur fumes des Anges de
paix; & eux de Lions qu'ils eftoient, ils fe firent nos
valets, & nous fervirent bien a propos de portefaix;
la Providence nous les ayants preparez pour fe
charger de nos paquets, que nous anions bien eu de
la peine ^ tranfporter par terre iufqu'au pais.

1666 - 68J RELA TION OF 1667 - 68 185

the seashore, or in the neighborhood of Quebec,
which have only the appearance of quarries ; but this
one is quite like those I have seen in the Ardennes
of our France, its color being a beautiful blue and
its laminae easily detached, — large or small, as one
wishes, — very fragile and very soft.

' ' While I paused at this Slate-quarry, our sailors
landed at the end of Lake St. Sacrement, and made
preparations for the portage, which is barely half a
league long through the woods, each one taking his
burden, of baggage or of canoes. When we had
embarked again, we at last, after some strokes of
our paddles, quitted these canoes, very glad to have
arrived safely at the end of the Lake, [22] from which
point there remained only thirty leagues of journey
by land, to reach the goal to which we had so long
aspired."

The whole country of the Iroquois was at that time
so overcome with fear of a new French army, that
for several days fourteen warriors had been constantly
on the watch at the entrance to this Lake, in order
to discover the army's line of march, and bear
news of it with all haste to the whole Nation. Their
purpose was to lay ambuscades for it in the woods,
by means of which they intended to attack it at an
advantage, and harass it in the defiles ; accordingly,
there was also a third band posted there, for the
purpose of making this reconnoissance. [23] But, by
great good fortune for them and for us, instead of
being enemies to them, we were Angels of peace ;
while on their part, from being Lions as they had
been, they became our menials, and served us very
opportunely as porters, — being furnished us by
Providence to take charge of our baggage, which we

186 LES RELATIONS DES jASUITES [Vol.51

Nous marchons done de compagnie ^ petites jour-
n6es, & nous nous rendons k trois quarts de lieue de
leur principale Bourgade, nommee Gandaoiiague, qui
eft celle que feu le Pere Iogue[s] a arrofee de fon fang,
& ou il a efle fi mal traite pendant dixhuit mois de
captiuite. On nous y recent avec les ceremonies
ordinaires, [24] & avec tout I'honneur imaginable.
Nous fumes conduits dans la cabanne du premier
Capitaine, ou tout le monde vint fondre pour nous
confiderer "k I'aife, tout rauis de voir chez eux les
Franjois fi paifibles, qui peu auparavant y avoient
paru comme en furie, & mettant le feu par tout.

Les premieres applications du Pere Fremin furent
d'aller par les cabannes chercher les captifs Hurons
& Algonquins, qui compofent eux feuls les deux
tiers du Bourg: il baptifa d'abord dix de leurs
enfans, prefentant k Dieu ces heureufes premices de
la nouvelle Miffion.

[25] ARTICLE 11. PREMIER BAPTESME CONFERE A
VNE FEMME IROQUOISE.

C?EST icy le lieu de raconter vn miracle de grace,
que la bonte Divine opera en la perfonne d'une
pauvre Iroquoife, k qui des guerriers de la nation
des loups auoient peu auparavant enlev6 la cheve-
lure, a la veue de la Bourgade. Le Pere Fremin
eilant entre dans la Cabanne, ou eftoit cette pauvre
malheureufe toute tremp^e dans fon fang, & plus
morte que vine, a caufe des blefTures qu'elle venoit
de recevoir; il I'aborde, & la voyant tirer k la fin,
luy parle de I'autre vie, des peines de I'enfer, ou
elle alloit tomber, {i elle n'embraffoit la Foy; & des
biens du Paradis, [26] qui luy eftoient alTeur^s, fi elle

1666-68] RELATION OF ibb7-68 187

would have had much difficulty in transporting to
their country by land.

We proceeded accordingly in company, by short
marches, and came to within three-quarters of a
league of their chief Village, called Gandaouague, the
one which the late Father Jogues watered with his
blood, and where he was so maltreated during eight-
een months of captivity. ^^ We were received there
with the customary ceremonies, [24] and with all
imaginable honor. We were conducted to the cabin
of the foremost Captain, where all the people crowded
in, to contemplate us at their ease, — quite delighted
to see among them Frenchmen, so peaceably inclined,
who not long before had made their appearance there
as if infuriated, setting fire to everything.

The first care of Father Fremin was to go through
the cabins, and find the Huron and Algonquin cap-
tives, who alone compo^se two-thirds of the Village.
He baptized at once ten of their children, offering to
God these blessed first-fruits of the new Mission.

[25] ARTICLE II. FIRST BAPTISM CONFERRED ON AN

IROQUOIS WOMAN.

THIS is the place to relate a miracle of grace
wrought by Divine goodness in the person of a
poor Iroquois woman, whom the warriors of the
loup nation had, a short time before, scalped in
plain sight of the Town. Father Fremin, enter-
ing the Cabin where this poor unfortunate was, — all
bathed in her blood, and more dead than alive from
the wounds she had just received, — approached her.
Seeing that she was drawing near her end, he spoke
to her about the other life — the tortures of hell,
into which she was going to fall if she did not

188 LES RELATIONS DES jASUITES [Vol.51

fe faifoit Chreftienne. A ces inftrudtions elle fait
la fourde oreille, & le Pere fut contraint de fortir
fans rien gagner fur fon efprit: Pendant que nous
fommes en prieres, pour le falut de cette pauvre Ame,
le Pere retourne "k la charge; mais il ne fut pas
pluftot entre dans la cabane qu'il y trouva un nouvel
obftacle de la part d'une vieille femme, qui le
repouffoit d'un cofte, & de I'autre fortifioit la malade
dans fon opiniaftret^ : I'heure marquee par la Provi-
dence n'et\oit pas encor arrivee; on y retourne pour
la troifi^me fois, mais fans fruit; nous defefperions
prefque entierement du falut de cette moribonde,
parce que nous eftions fur les termes de partir de
cette Bourgade, [27] bien fachez de laiffer cette proye
au demon.

Neanmoins le Pere fut puiffament infpire de faire
un dernier effort, pendant que nous levions les bras
en haut pour flechir la Mifericorde de Dieu; il entre,
il s'approche, il parle, il eft ecout6, & il trouve cette
pauvre femme toute changee: elle I'entend auec
plaifir, elle repete les prieres avec ferveur, en vn mot
elle fe trouva fi bien difpof^e, le S. Efprit ayant eft6
fon Maiftre & fon Inftru(5teur, qu'avant qu'elle expi-
rafl, nous luy donnames le S. Bapteme, pour eftre la
premiere Ame de cette Barbaric qui priera Dieu pour
nous dans le Ciel, & pour la coverfion de fes compa-
triotes. Nous ne devious pas reil:er ce jour-1^ k
Gandaoiiague ; mais Dieu [28] qui a fes defleins, fit
naiflre le falut de cette pauvre femme de fon propre
malheur, & du retardement que cauferent les gueriers
qui eftoient alles pour fuivre les loups qui auoient
fait ce coup.

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 189

embrace the Faith; and the joys of Paradise, [26]
which were assured to her if she became a Christian.
To these teachings she turned a deaf ear, and the
Father was obliged to go out without having made
any impression upon her mind. While we were at
prayers for the salvation of this poor Soul, the Father
returned to the charge ; but he had no sooner entered
the cabin than he found a new obstacle there, in the
person of an old woman who not only repulsed him,
but confirmed the sick woman in her obstinacy. The
hour marked by Providence was not yet come. He
returned for the third time, but without success; and
we almost despaired of the salvation of this dying
woman, because we were about to depart from that
Village, [27] much grieved at leaving this prey to
the demon.

Nevertheless, the Father was urgently inspired to
make one last attempt,, while we raised our hands to
heaven to move God's Pity. He went in, and drew
near; he spoke, was heard, and found this poor
woman quite changed. She listened to him with
pleasure, repeated the prayers with fervor, and, in
a word, was found so well prepared — the Holy
Ghost having been her Master and Teacher — that
before she died we gave her Holy Baptism, that she
should be the first Soul of this Barbarian community
who should pray to God in Heaven for us, and for
the conversion of her countrymen. It had not been
our intention to remain that day at Gandaoudgu6 ;
but God, [28] who has his designs, made the salva-
tion of this poor woman spring from her own mis-
fortune, and from the delay caused by the warriors
who had gone in pursuit of the loups, who had
inflicted this blow.

190 LES RELATIONS DES /£SUITES [Vol.61

ARTICLE III. RUDE EPREUVE D'UNE AUTRE FEMME
IROQUOISE APRES SON BAPTESME.

MAIS voicy vne autre merveille de grace, bien plus
conHderable que la premiere ; elle donnera fans
doute de la confolation aux Lec5leurs, & a mefme
temps leur fera voir que la force du veritable Chrifti-
anifme & I'Efprit de Iesvs-Christ ne fe trouve pas
moins parmy les Barbares, que chez les peuples
policez, vbinon ejl Gentilis & Iiideus, Barbarus & Scyiha,
fed omnia & in [29] omnibus CJiriJliis. Le Pere Fremin
la raconte auec toute la fidelite poffible en ces termes.

Arriuant au pais des Iroquois, nous fumes obliges
de refter trois iours k la premiere Bourgade, qui fe
trouua en noftre chemin, appelle Gandaoiidgue; la
crainte des guerriers de la nation des loups nous y
tenant refferez, & nous empefchant de paffer outre,
fans efcorte confiderable.

Pendant ce temps, que Dieu me donnoit bien ^
propos, ie tachay de ramaffer nos anciens Chrefliens
de la Nation Huronne, lefquels depuis plufieurs
ann6es eftoient priuez de la veue de leur Pafteur: ie
les fis tous affembler dans vne Cabanne ecartee, pour
y regler tous les exercices du Chriftianifme qu'ils y
devoient pratiquer.

[30] II fe trouva parmy ce petit troupeau, une
femme Iroquoife agee de vingt cinq ans, laquelle
voulut refter pour entendre ce que ie devois dire; k
la fin de mon difcours, m'adreffant fa parole, elle me
dit que tout de bon & fans feintife elle vouloit ell;re
Chreftienne ; ie luy refpondis que ie iugerois de fa
fmcerit6 par fa perf everance ; que cependant ie I'in-
ftruirois, & luy ferois conceuoir peu ^ pen le grand
bonheur auquel elle afpiroit: elle ne manqua pas de

II

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 191

ARTICLE III. SEVERE TRIAL OF ANOTHER IROQUOIS
WOMAN AFTER HER BAPTISM.

BUT here follows another marvel of grace, much
more considerable than the first. It will doubt-
less give consolation to the Readers, and at the same
time will make them see that the force of true Chris-
tianity and the Spirit of Jesus Christ is found not
less among Barbarians than among civilized nations,
ubi 7ion est Gentilis et Judcus, Barhariis et Scytha, sed
oytmia et in [29] omnibus Christus. Father Fremin
relates it, with all possible fidelity, in these terms:

' ' Arriving in the country of the Iroquois, we were
obliged to remain three days in the first Village
which we found on our way, called Gandaouague ;
fear of the warriors of the loup nation kept us shut
up there, and prevented us from going on without a
considerable escort.

"During this time, -which God very opportunely
gave me, I tried to reassemble our old Christians of
the Huron Nation, who had been for several years
deprived of the sight of their Pastor. I made them
all assemble in a Cabin apart, in order to prescribe
all the exercises of Christianity which they were to
practice.

[30] " In this little band there happened to be an
Iroquois woman, twenty-five years of age, who wished
to remain and hear what I was going to say. At the
close of my discourse she addressed me, and told me
that she wished, in all sincerity and without pre-
tense, to be a Christian. I answered her that I could
judge of her sincerity from her perseverance ; and
that, meantime, I would instruct her, and would little
by little make her understand the great blessing to
which she aspired. She on her part did not fail to

192 LES RELATIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol.51

fon colte de faire tout ce que ie devois efperer d'une
fervente Catecumene: elle affifta k toutes nos alTem-
blees avec vne ferveur des premiers Chreftiens, &
quand il me fallut partir, ayant defign^e la Cabanne,
ou tous fe devoient affembler les matins & les foirs,
pour y [31] faire les prieres publiquement, & ayant
nomm^ une bonne C[li]reftienne pour avoir foin d'aver-
tir tous les autres de I'heure de ces affemblees, noftre
Iroquoife fe prefenta pour cet office de Cbarite &
d'humilite, & avec un courage tout k fait heroique,
elle furmonta la honte naturelle & ordinaire qu'ont
les ieunes femmes Iroquoifes, d'aller de Cabanne en
Cabanne faire ces fortes d'invitations, qui ne fe font
point fans recevoir des brocards & des iniures, de la
part de ceux qui ne font pas Chreftiens.

Quand ie fus preft de partir, comme elle vit qu'elle
ne pouvoit pas encor obtenir la grace d'eftre Bapti-
f ee, elle me dit, mais avec une rauiCCante ingenuite ;
pour Ie moins Baptif6s mon fils [32] vnique, il n'a
pas encor peche comme moy, pour fe rendre indigne
de ce bonheur; ie luy accorday cette demande, & la
confolay beaucoup, luy promettant de me rendre
dans 15. iours aupres d'elle, pour I'inftruire.

Les 15. iours eflants expires, & ne pouvant me
derober aux affaires plus importantes qui m'acca-
bloient, ie ne pu tenir ma promeffe pour Taller voir;
mais elle vint elle mefme me trouver dans la Bour-
gade de Tionontonguen ; Ie fus raui de la voir, & luy
ayant dit que i'allois me metre tout de bon \ luy
apprendre les prieres, & les principaux Myfleres de
noltre Foy ; ie les fcay, me dit-elle, ie les ay apprifes
parfaitement pendant ton abfence, par Ie moyen
d'une bonne Huronne [33] qui n'a ceffe de m'inftruire

%

1666-68] RELATION OF 16&J-68 193

perform all that I could expect from a fervent Cate-
chumen. She was present at all our meetings, with
a fervor worthy of the first Christians; and when I
had to go away, and had designated the Cabin where
all were to assemble, morning and evening, to [31]
say their prayers in public, and had named a good
Christian woman to take the charge of informing all
the others of the hour of these meetings, our Iroquois
woman offered herself for this office of Charity and
humility. Then, with a courage altogether heroic,
she surmounted the natural and usual shame that
young Iroquois women feel in going from Cabin to
Cabin to give that kind of invitation, which is not
done without receiving taunts and insults from those
who are not Christians.

" When I was ready to depart, as she saw that she
could not yet obtain the grace of Baptism, she said to
me with a charming simplicity : ' At least. Baptize my
only son; [32] he has not sinned yet, to render him-
self unworthy of that blessing.' I granted her this
request, and comforted her greatly, promising her to
come back in a fortnight, in order to instruct her.

" The fortnight having expired, as I was unable to
get away from more important duties which were
overwhelming me, I could not keep my promise to
visit her; but she came herself to find me in the
Village of Tionnontonguen. I was delighted to see
her, and when I told her that I was going to begin
in good earnest to teach her the prayers and principal
Rites of our Faith, she answered me: ' I know them;
I learned them perfectly during thy absence, from a
good Huron woman, [33] who has not ceased to
instruct me every day.' Then, proceeding to recite
without error all the prayers and principal articles

194 LES RELA TIONS DES j£SUITES [Vol. 51

tons les iours; puis s'eflant mis a reciter parfaitemet
toutes les prieres, & les principaux articles de la Foy ;
"k quoy tient-il, m'adiouta-t-elle, que tu ne me
Baptifes? c'efl h. prefent que tu dois tenir ta parole.

Comme ie ne la connoiff ois pas encor aff 6s ; ie la
differay ^ un autre temps, Ie plus doucement qu'il
me fut poffible, & ie luy fis trouver bon de s'en
retoumer chez foy en emportant I'efperance qu'au
plutoft i'acquiefcerois k fes defirs. De fait, quelque
temps apres ie fus en fa Bourgade de Gadaouagu6.
Comme i'y entrois, elle vint audevant de moy, pour
me demander Ie Baptefme : ie tachay pour lors de
m'informer de nos bonnes Chreftiennes Huronnes,
[34] comme elle s'eftoit comportee pendant mon
abfence; elles m'affeurerent qu'elle avoit efte
I'exemple de toutes les autres, foit en fa ferveur,
foit en I'alTiduit^ aux prieres, tous les matins & tous
les foirs, fans y avoir iamais manque ; qu'elle adioutoit
mefme fes paroles k fes exemples, les exhortant avec
une ardeur admirable.

Ie luy parlay done en particulier pour fonder un
peu Ie fond de fon coeur; & ie trouvay une femme
d'uiie rare innocence, d'un bon efprit, & d'une heu-
reufe memoire ; elle s'eftoit habituee k reciter tous
les iours fon cbapelet cinq & i^i.^ f ois ; & ie puis ailurer
que depuis Ie matin iufques au foir, elle eftoit en
oraifon continuelle; toutes ces belles difpofitions [35]
m'obligerent enfin h. luy conferer Ie S. Baptefme.

Cette vertu efloit trop grande pour n'eflre pas
6prouv6e: elle n'eufl que deux iours de terme, apres
lefquels fon fils tombe malade ; Ie tremblois de peur
pour cette pauvre femme, ne la croyant pas encor
affes bien affermie, mais ie m'aperceus bien que ce

I

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 - 68 195

of the Faith, ' What is the reason,' she added, ' that
thou dost not Baptize me? Thou oughtest now to
keep thy word. '

" As I did not yet know her sufficiently, I put her
off until another time, as gently as I could, and won
her consent to go back to her home with the hope
that I would, as soon as possible, comply with her
desires. In fact, some time afterward I visited her
Village, Gandaouague ; and as I entered she came to
meet me, in order to ask me for Baptism. I tried
then to ascertain from our good Huron Christian
women [34] how she had conducted herself during
my absence. They assured me that she had been an
example for all the other women, both in fervor and
in constancy at prayers, every morning and every
evening, without ever failing to be there ; and that
she even added her words to her example, exhorting
them with an admirable, ardor.

" Accordingly, I spoke to her in private, in order
to sound the depths of her heart a little ; and I found
a woman of rare innocence, of good intelligence, and
of an excellent memory. She was accustomed to tell
her beads five or six times every day; and I can
affirm that, from morning till night, she was continu-
ally praying. All these excellent dispositions [35]
obliged me at last to confer on her Holy Baptism.

" This virtue was too great not to be tested.
After the lapse of only two days, her son fell ill;
and I trembled with fear for this poor woman, not
thinking her yet sufficiently established; but I per-
ceived plainly that hers was no common virtue. She
did not weaken in her holy resolves, but continued
her devotions as usual, and merited by her constancy
the cure of her son.

196 LES RELATIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol.51

n'eftoit pas une vertu du commun, elle ne bronclia
point dans fes faintes refolutions, & continua fes
devotions ^ 1' ordinaire, & merita par fa conftance la
guerifon de fon fils.

Mais ce ne fut que pour entrer dans une plus rude
epreuve; k peine fon fils eft il gueri, que fon mari
fut tue tout proche du bourg, par les Mahingans; elle
aimoit cet homme plus qu'elle [36] mefme; & comme
elle eftoit bien faite, auffi auoit-elle bon efprit, & efloit
des meilleurs families du pais; toutes ces bonnes
qualites auoient donn6 naiffance ^ leur mariage,
qui s'eftoit fortifi6 depuis huit ou dix ans par un
amour reciproque, tendre & tres conftant, & paffoit
pour le plus accomply qui fuft entre les Sauvages.

On peut iuger par Ik quelle devoit eftre I'afflidtion
de cette femme, & fi fa foy qui n'eftoit encor que
dans fon berceau, n'eftoit pas bien en danger de fe
perdre; mais tant s'en faut qu'elle fe relachaft en
fes deuotions, qu'au contraire elle les augmenta, pour
fe fortifier toujours de plus en plus contre les attaques
du diable, qui fufcita les parens [37] du defunt pour
venir tous fondre en fa Cabanne, & luy faire mille
reproches, luy imputant & la maladie de fon fils, &
la mort de fon mary, qu'elle avoit tu^s fe faifant
Chrertienne ; fes propres parens s'en meflerent aulfi,
& tous enfemble pafferent huit iours autour d'elle,
la chargeant de toutes les iniures les plus atroces que
la pafiion leur pouvoit fuggerer, & vfant envers elle
de tous les mauvais-traitemens qu'on peut s'imaginer
en ces rencontres.

Les courages les plus fermes plieroient dans ces
conion(5tures, & buit iours de fouffrances eftoient
affes pour la letter dans I'abbatement, & d'efprit &

I
I

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 197

" But it was only to encounter a more severe test.
Scarcely had her son recovered when her husband
was killed, very near the village, by the Mahingans.
She loved this man more than herself, [36] and,
while she was physically well formed, she had also a
good mind, and was related to the best families of
the country. All these good qualities had brought
about their marriage, which had been confirmed dur-
ing the last eight or ten years by a reciprocal love,
very tender and constant; and it was regarded as the
most complete union that existed among the Savages.

" From this it can be judged what must have been
this woman's affliction; and whether her faith, which
was yet only in its infancy, was not in great danger
of destruction. But so far from relaxing in her devo-
tions, she on the contrary increased them, in order to
fortify herself constantly more and more against the
assaults of the devil, IJe incited the relatives [37]
of the deceased to come all pouring into her Cabin,
and cast at her a thousand reproaches, — imputing to
her both the illness of her son and the death of her
husband, whom she had killed by becoming a Chris-
tian. Her own relatives also took part in this effort;
and they, all together, spent a week with her, loading
her with all the most atrocious insults that passion
could suggest to them, and inflicting upon her all the
ill treatment one can imagine in such circumstances.

' ' The strongest courage would falter under such
conditions ; and a week of suffering was enough to
throw her into a state of dejection, both of mind and
of body ; but she had no sooner perceived this than
she sent for me [38] to come and comfort her. At
our interview, she redoubled her tears, and I could
not restrain my own ; but her tears were all innocent.

198 LES RELATIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol.51

de corps; mais elle ne s'en fut pas plutot aperceue,
qu'elle m'envoia [38] querir pour Taller confoler. A
noftre entreveiie elle redoubla fes larmes, & ie ne
pus retenir les miennes; mais fes larmes eftoient
toutes innocentes, & ie trouvay fon coeur parfaite-
ment refigne aux ordres de Dieu, & fon Ame aufil
nette parmi toutes ces brouilleries, & auffi innocente,
que Ie premier iour de fon Baptefme. Mais ce que
i'admiray davantage, ce fut fa fermete dans fa foy,
& dans toutes fes pratiques de devotion ; dans les-
quelles elle demeura toujours inebranlable, iufqu'k
reciter fon chapelet huit & dix f ois par iour ; en quoy
elle goutoit une merveilleufe douceur parmi fes plus
grandes afflictions.

Apres cela, ie croyois que Dieu efloit content de
ces ^preuves; [39] mais k peine vingt iours de temps
avoient commence k effuyer fes larmes, qu'une
fluxion luy tomba fur les yeux, qui luy rendit Ie
vifage monfhrueux, & luy fit perdre I'vfage de la
lumiere. A cet accident tons fes parens auffi bien
que ceux de fon mari defunt, redoublerent leurs
perf ecutions ; N'es-tu pas encor contente d'avoir tue
ton mari, luy difoient-ils ; Veux tu encore te tuer toy
mefme? Ne vois-tu pas que c'efl la Foy qui caufe
tous ces maux? Aye piti6 de ton enfant, & de tes
autres parens, fi tu veux t'abandonner en proye k
toutes les mif eres : ils continuerent huit iours durant
dans de femblables reproches; & elle pendant toute
cette perfecution, n'avoit autre confolation, que celle
que Dieu luy donnoit dans fes prieres, [40] qu'elle
redoubloit a proportion qu'on la perfecutoit.

On luy amena plufieurs fois les iongleurs du pais
pour travailler a fa guerifon par des feilins & par des

1666 - 68J RELA TION OF 1667-68 199

and I found her heart perfectly resigned to the
decrees of God, and her Soul as pure and guiltless
amid all this wrangling as on the very day of her
Baptism. But what I most admired was her firmness
in her faith and in all her exercises of devotion, in
which she continued always unshaken, even to telling
her beads eight and ten times a day; in this she
experienced a marvelous peace amid her greatest
afflictions.

' ' After that, I thought that God was satisfied with
these tests; [39] but scarcely had twenty days' time
begun to dry her tears, when she was seized with an
inflammation of the eyes which greatly disfigured
her face and made her lose the use of her eyes. At
this mishap all her relatives, as well as those of her
dead husband, redoubled their persecutions. ' Art
thou not yet content with having killed thy husband ? '
they asked her. ' Wilt thou kill thyself too? Seest
thou not that it is the Faith that causes all these ills?
Take pity on thy child and thy other relatives, if
thou art determined to abandon thyself a prey to all
calamities.' For a whole week, they kept up re-
proaches like these ; and she, during all that perse-
cution, had no other consolation than that which
God gave her in her prayers, [40] which she increased
in proportion as she was persecuted.

" Several times the jugglers of the country were
brought to her, to try to effect her cure by feasts
and superstitious ceremonies; but she would never
consent to this. Those who know how great is the
complaisance of the Savages toward their relatives,
will easily judge that the virtue of this woman was
heroic, and that God visited her with very extraor-
dinary graces.

200 LES RELATIONS DES JJ^SUITES [Vol.51

ceremonies f uperftitieuf es ; mais iamais elle n'y
voulut confentir. Ceux qui fgauent combien grande
eft la condefcendance qu'ont les Sauvages pour leurs
parens, iugeront aifement que la vertu de cette
femme efloit heroique, & que Dieu luy a fait des
graces bien fingulieres.

Ayant done refuf6 les iongleurs du pais, elle
s'adreffa k un de nos Chreftiens Hurons; qui f9avoit
un bon remede pour fon mal, & Dieu le beniflant,
apres trois mois d'efpreuve, elle a recouvre, & la
lumiere de fes yeux, & la fante de fon corps; & en
reconnoiffance [41] elle continue dans fes ferveurs,
qu'elle infpire "k fon fils, qui n'a que quatre ans; &
qu'elle a defja rendu f9auant dans les prieres. Si la
perfeverance met le feau ^ une fi heureufe vie, ie ne
feray point de difficult^, connoiilant, comme ie fais,
fon innocence, de I'egaler aux Chreftiens des premiers
Siecles de I'Eglife. Mais retournons au voyage de
nos Miffionnaires, que le recit de ces deux chofes
afCez confiderables a interrompu. Voicy comme il
continue ^ parler.

ARTICLE IV. DE LA RECEPTION DES PERES DANS LES

AUTRES BOURGADES IROQUOISES, & D'UN

CELEBRE CONSEIL QUI Y FUT TENU

APRES LEUR ARRIUEE.

DE Gandaoiiague nous paflames a une autre Bour-
gade [42] eloignee de deux lieues, ou nous
fumes encores mieux receus qu'en la premiere; &
que nous confacrames par le Baptefme de trois
enfans; dont I'un, qui fe trouve Orphelin de pere &
de mere, eft tout pre ft d'expirer: Ne voila pas par
avance une riche recompenfe de nos travaux pafles,

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 -68 201

" Having, then, refused the jugglers of the coun-
try, she had recourse to one of our Huron Christians
who knew a good remedy for her disease; and, God
blessing it, she has recovered, after using it three
months, both the sight of her eyes and the health of
her body. In gratitude, [41] she continues in her
fervor and inspires the same in her son, — who is
only four years old, and whom she has already taught
some of the prayers. If perseverance places the seal
upon so blessed a life, I shall have no difficulty —
knowing, as I do, her innocence — in likening her to
the Christians of the first Centuries of the Church."
But let us return to the journey of our Missionaries,
which the narration of these two rather important
events has interrupted. Let us see how he continues
to speak.

ARTICLE IV. OF THE RECEPTION OF THE FATHERS IN

THE OTHER IROQUOIS VILLAGES, AND OF A

NOTABLE COUNCIL WHICH WAS HELD

THERE AFTER THEIR ARRIVAL.

FROM Gandaouague we went on to another Village,
[42] two leagues distant, where we were received
even more kindly than at the first one ; this place we
consecrated by the Baptism of three children, one of
whom, Orphaned of both parents, was at the point of
death. Was not this a rich recompense in advance
for our past labors, and a powerful incentive to
embrace with courage those which should present
themselves in the future?

However, we had to leave this second Village,
in order to journey on to the Capital of this whole
country, called Tionnontoguen,^' — which the Iroquois
have rebuilt, at a quarter of a league from that which

202 LES RELA TIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol. 51

& un puiffant aiguillon pour embraffer avec courage
ceux qui fe prefenteront.

II fallut encor fortir de cette feconde Bourgade,
pour nous tranfporter h. la Capitale de tout ce pais,
nommee Tionnontoguen, que les Iroquois ont reba-
tie, a un quart de lieue de celle que les Fran9ois
brulerent I'an paffe. Nous y fumes efcortes par deux
cents hommes, qui marchoient en bon ordre; nous
allions les derniers immediatement devant les Teftes
[43] blanches, & les plus confiderables du pais. Cette
marche fe faifoit avec une gravite admirable, iufqu'k
ce que nous eilans rendus alles proche du Bourg,
tout le monde s'arrefta, & nous fumes compliment6s
par le plus eloquent de la Nation, qui nous attendoit
avec les autres Deputez. Apres quoy, il nous intro-
dufjt dans la Bourgade, oil nous fumes receus auec
la decharge de toute I'artillerie, chacun tirant de fa
Cabanne, & deux pierriers faifant feu aux deux bouts
du Bourg.

Toute la harangue, que cet homme nous fit,
confiltoit en ces deux mots ; qu'ils eftoient heureux
de ce que le Frangois venoit difQper les broiiillars
de I'air, dont la nation des Loups le troubloient, &
remettre leur efprit en bonne affiette [44] par I'affu-
rance de la paix, que noftre venue leur donnoit;
apres quoy fuivit le feftin, qui confiftoit a un plat de
bouillie de bled d'Inde cuit a I'eau, avec un peu de
poiflon boucane, & pour deffert un panier de
citrouilles.

Peut-eflre s'eflonnera-t'on que des Miffionnaires
acceptent des honneurs qui leur font fi magnifique-
ment deferez, & fe trouvent h. des feftins, dont ces
peuples ont de coutume de regalei leurs Ambaffa-

\

1666-6SJ RELATION OF 1667-68 203

the French burned down last year. We were escorted
thither by two hundred men, who marched in good
order; we went last, immediately in front of the
hoary Heads [43] and the most considerable men of
the country. This march was executed with an
admirable gravity until, when we had arrived quite
near the Village, every one halted, and we were com-
plimented by the most eloquent man of the Nation,
who was awaiting us with the other Deputies. After
this, he conducted us into the Village, where we
were received with the discharge of all the artil-
lery,— each one tiring from his Cabin, and two
swivel-guns being discharged at the two ends of the
Village.

The entire harangue which this man made us con-
sisted of these few words : that they were glad that
the Frenchman was coming to clear the air from the
mists with which the nation of the Wolves was cloud-
ing it, and to restore calm to their minds [44] by the
assurance of peace that our arrival gave them. After
this followed the feast, which consisted of a dish of
porridge made with Indian corn, cooked in water,
with a little smoked fish, and, for dessert, a basket
of squashes.

Perhaps some will be astonished that Missionaries
accept honors which are paid them with so much
ceremony, and are present at feasts with which these
peoples are accustomed to regale their Ambassadors.
But both these honors and these feasts are after the
manner of the Savages, — that is to say, of such a
nature that they conflict neither with humility nor
with Christian temperance; on the contrary, they
furnish opportunities to practice advantageously both
these virtues. We must then hold St, Paul's opinion :

204 LES RELATIONS DES j£SUITES [Vol. 51

deurs ; Mais «&; ces honneurs & ces f eftins font k la
Sauvage; C'eft ^ dire de telle nature, qu'ils ne com-
battent point ni I'humilite, ni la temperance Chre-
flienne, au-contraire ils fourniffent les occaflons de
pratiquer avantageuf ement ces deux vertus ; II faut
done s'en tenir au fentiment de S. Paul: [45] Scio &
hiiiniliari, fcio & abundarc, & fatiari & e/urire.

Le iour de 1' Exaltation de Sainte Croix eftant
deftine pour faire nos prefens, c'eft k dire pour parler
en public fur le fujet de noflre venue ; toutes les fix
Bourgades d'Agni^ s'affemblerent icy, hommes,
f emmes, & enfans & vieillards ; & apres auoir donne
commencement a cette action, par le Vefii Creator y
dont le chant fut entrecoupe du fon d'un petit inftru-
ment de mufique, que ces peuples efcoutet avec plaifir
8c avec admiration ; le Pere Fremin harangua devat
toute cette grande affembl6e, s'accommodant pour
les difcours & pour les poftures a la fa9on de faire
de leurs plus celebres Orateurs, qui ne parlent pas
moins par geftes que de la langue. II leur fit voir
les grands biens [46] que produifoient la paix, les mal-
heurs qui accompagnent la guerre, dont ils auoient
epreuv^ les effets depuis un an, par I'embrafement
de leur Bourg. II leur reprocha les perfidies & les
cruaut6s qu'ils avoient exercees, avec tant de barbaric
fur nos Fra9ois, fans en avoir receu aucun mauvais
traittement: il leur declara en fuitte, qu'il venoit
expres pour changer cette humeur barbare, leur
apprenant a viure en hommes, & puis a eflre
Chrefliens; & qu'en fuitte noftre grand Onnontio les
recevroit pour fes fujets, & les prendroit deformais
fous fa protection Royale, comme il a fait tous les
autres peuples de ces contr6es. Qu'au relte ils fe

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 205

[45] Scio et humiliari, scio et abundare, et satiari et
esurire.

The day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross hav-
ing been fixed upon for making our presents, — that
is to say, for speaking in public on the subject of our
coming, — all the six Villages of Agnie assembled
here, men, women, children, and old men. After
having begun the ceremony by the Veni Creator, the
chanting of which was accompanied by the notes of
a small musical instrument, which these peoples
listen to with pleasure and wonder, Father Fremin
made a harangue before all this great assembly, adapt-
ing himself in discourse and gestures to the usage of
their most celebrated Orators, who speak not less by
gesticulation than by language. He made them see
the great blessings [46] produced by peace, and the
evils that accompany war — of which they had felt
the effects, a year before, in the destruction of their
Village by fire. He reproached them for the acts of
perfidy and cruelty that they had committed, with
such barbarity, upon our Frenchmen, without having
received any ill treatment from these. Then he
declared to them that he came for the very purpose
of changing this barbarous disposition, by teaching
them to live like men, and then to be Christians;
and that our great Onnontio would then receive them
as his subjects, and would take them thenceforth
under his Royal protection, as he had all the other
tribes of those regions; and that, moreover, they
must take good heed in the future not to commit any
act of hostility, either upon us or upon our allies.

[47] But, in order to inspire them with greater
terror, and make more impression on their minds, as
these peoples are greatly influenced by external

206 LES RELATIONS DES J&SUITES [Vol.51

donnaffent bien de garde deformais d'exercer aucvn
adte d'hoflilite, ni fur nous, ni fur nos allies,

[47] Mais afin de leur donner plus de terreur &
faire plus d'impreffion fur leurs efprits, comme ces
peuples fe conduifent beaucoup par les chofes exte-
rieures; le Pere fit planter au milieu de la place, ou
fe tenoit le Confeil, une perche longue de quarante
ou cinquante pieds, du haut de laquelle pendoit un
collier de Pourcelaine ; leur declarant que feroit ainfi
pendu le premier des Iroquois qui viendroit tuer un
Frangois, ou quelqu'un de nos Allies; qu'ils en
avoient desja veu I'exemple par I'execution publique
qui fut faite a Quebec I'annee paffee d'un homme de
leur pais, qui avoit contrevenu a quelques uns des
articles de la paix.

II n'eft pas croyable combien ce prefent fi extra-
ordinaire les eftonna [48] tous; ils demeurent long
temps la tefte en bas, fans ofer ni regarder ce
fpedtacle, ni en parler; iufqu'a ce que le premier &
le plus eloquent de leurs Orateurs, ayant comme
repris fes efprits, fe leva, & fit toutes les fingeries
imaginables autour de cette perche; pour declarer
fon eftonnement. On ne pent pas defcrire toutes les
gefticulations que fit c6t homme age de plus de
f oixante ans ; que de regards inopines k la veue de ce
fpedtacle, comme s'il en eufl ignore la fignification:
que d' exclamations, en ayant trouv6 le fecret &
r interpretation! que fouvent il fe prenoit horrible-
ment par le gofier avec fes deux mains, fe le ferrant
eftroitement, pour reprefenter, & en mefme temps
donner horreur de ce genre de mort k une infinite
[49] de monde qui nous environnoit; en un mot, il
employa toutes les figures des plus excellents

I

V

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 207

phenomena, the Father caused to be erected, in the
middle of the place where the Council was being
held, a pole forty or fifty feet in length, from the top
of which hung a Porcelain necklace. He declared
that, in like manner, should be hanged the first of
the Iroquois who should come to kill a Frenchman
or any one of our Allies ; and that they had already
had an example shown them in the public execution,
which took place at Quebec in the preceding year, of
a man of their country who had violated some of the
terms of peace.

It is incredible how much this present, so unusual,
astounded them [48] all. They remained for a long
time with their heads down, without daring either
to look at this spectacle or to talk about it, until
the most prominent and most eloquent of their
Orators — having recovered his spirits — arose and
performed all the apish tricks imaginable about
this pole, to show his astonishment. It is impos-
sible to describe all the gesticulations made by this
man, who was more than sixty years old. What
looks of surprise at the sight of this spectacle, as if
he had not known its meaning ! What exclamations,
upon finding out its secret and interpretation ! How
often he seized himself by the throat with both his
hands, in a horrible manner, — squeezing it tightly
to represent, and at the same time to inspire a horror
of, this kind of death, in the multitude [49] of
people who surrounded us ! In a word, he employed
all the artifices of the most excellent Orators, with
surprising eloquence ; and, after discoursing on this
theme a very long time, continually manifesting
mental traits which were out of the ordinary, he
ended by delivering to us the captives for whom we

208 LES RELATIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol.51

Orateurs, avec une eloquence furprenante; & apres
avoir difcouru fur ce fujet bien long-temps, faif ant tou-
jours paroitre des traits d'efprit qui n'avoit rien de
commun, il finit en nous delivrant les captifs que
nous demandions, & nous donnant le choix du lieu, oti
nous voulions batir noflre Chapelle, k la conflrucljon
de laquelle ils s'offroient de travailler en toute
diligence : Ils nous deliurerent auffi un Fran9ois ;
qu'ils tenoient captif depuis quelque temps, & nous
promirent la liberte de douze Algonquins, partie
de la Nation des Nez Percez, partie de celle des
Outaouacs, qu'ils nous remettront entre les mains
pour les renuoyer chacun en leur pais.

[50] ARTICLE V. DE L'ESTABLISSEMENT DU CHRIS-
TIANISME DANS LE PAIS DES IRO-
QUOIS d'agnie.

NOSTRE Chapelle ayant efle dreffee par les foins
des Iroquois mefmes, qui s'y apliquerent avec
une ardeur incroyable ; nous I'ouvrifmes & nous
commencames a y faire entendre la fainte MeCfe ^
nos anciens Chreftiens, inllruits autrefois par nos
Peres dans leur pais des Hurons. II faut icy auoiier
qu'on ne put s'empefcher de verfer des larmes de
ioye, en voyant ces pauvres captifs fi fervents dans
leurs devotions, & fi conftants dans leur Foy, depuis
tant d'ann6es, qu'ils ont efle priv^s de toute
inllrudtion : C eft la recompenfe que Dieu nous donne
[51] par avance, pour les petits travaux aufquels ce
genre de vie fi barbare nous engage pour f on amour ;
Les iournees nous coulent fans y penfer, & nous
voyans obligez d' employer les huit heures de fuitte
k faire prier Dieu ceux qui viennent en la Chapelle,

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 209

asked, and giving us the choice of a site for the erec-
tion of OTir Chapel, in the construction of which they
offered to work with all diligence. They delivered
to us also a Frenchman whom they had held a pris-
oner for some time, and promised us the liberty of
twelve Algonquins, — part from the Nation of the
Nez Percez, part from that of the Outaouacs, — whom
they will put into our hands, to send back each to
his own country.

[50] ARTICLE V. OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CHRIS-
TIANITY IN THE COUNTRY OF THE IRO-
QUOIS OF AGNIE.

OUR Chapel having been built by the efforts of the
Iroquois themselves, who applied themselves
to the task with incredible ardor, we opened it, and
began to have our old Christians, who had formerly
been instructed in their own Huron country by our
Fathers, hear the holy Mass. It must here be con-
fessed that we could not help shedding tears of joy
at seeing these poor captives so fervent in their devo-
tions, and so constant in their Faith, after so many
years during which they had been deprived of all
instruction. Such is the reward that God gives us,
[51] in advance, for the little labors in which this kind
of life, so barbarous in its character, engages us from
love to him. The days slip by without our realizing
their passage ; and, as we are obliged to employ eight
consecutive hours in directing the prayers of those
who come to the Chapel, the rest of the time passes
very quickly in other Apostolic functions.

The mothers bring us their little children, that we
may make the sign of the Cross on their foreheads ;
and thev themselves are accustomed to do the same

210 LES RELATIONS DES JESUITES [Vol.51

le refte du temps fe paffe bien vifte aux autres
fonctions Apofloliques.

Les meres nous apportent leurs petits enfans pour
leur faire le figne de la Croix fur le front, & elles
s'accoutument a le faire elles mefmes avant que de
les coucher; leurs entretiens ordinaires dans les
Cabannes font de I'Enfer & du Paradis, dont nous
leur parlous fouvent

Le mefme fe pratique dans les autres Bourgs, ^
r imitation de celuy-cy & on nous y invite de temps
en temps pour leur aller adminiftrer [52] les Sacre-
mens, & mettre ces Eglifes Naiff antes en I'eftat que
cette Barbarie peut fouffrir.

D6s la premiere vifite que le Pere Fremin a faite
k une de ces Bourgades, il y a trouv6 quarante cinq
anciens. Chreftiens, qui luy ont cauf6 & ont receu
reciproquement bien de la confolation ; il a efte
oblige de rendre ce temoignage a la verity, declarant,
qu'il n'euft jamais cru ce qu'il a veu & experimente,
combien la piet6 eft bien enracinee dans I'ame de ces
pauvres Captifs, qui furpalTent de beaucoup en devo-
tion le commun des Chreftiens, quoy qu'ils n'ayent
eu depuis fi long-temps aucune affiftance de leurs
Pafteurs. lis fe font approchez des Sacremens, ils
ont fait Baptifer leurs enfans, & ont fait voir le [53]
lieu oil ils s'aff ambient tous les foirs fans y manquer,
pour conferver leur ferveur par les prieres publiques
qu'ils font enfemble, ou fe trouuet auffi quelques
Iroquois, attires par I'odeur de ce bon exemple, &
perfuadez de la verity de noftre fainte Foy par une fi
genereufe conftance.

Comme les Iroquois ont fait des conqueites dans
toutes les parties du Canada, ils nous donnent moyen

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 211

before putting them to bed. Their ordinary conver-
sation in the Cabins is about Hell and Paradise, of
which we often speak to them.

The same custom is followed in the other Villaofes,
in imitation of this one; and we are from time to
time invited to go and administer [52] the Sacraments
to them and put these Infant Churches in such
condition as this state of Barbarism admits.

At the very first visit made by Father Fremin to
one of these Villages, he found there forty-five old-
time Christians, who gave him, and who themselves
received in return, much consolation. He was
obliged to render this testimony to the truth, that he
would never have believed — what he has seen and
experienced — how well rooted piety is in the souls
of these poor Captives, who far surpass in devotion
the generality of Christians, although for so long
a time they have had no help from their Pastors.
They came to the Sacraments, they had their children
Baptized, and they showed the [5 3 J place where they
assemble every evening, without fail, to maintain
their fervor by the public prayers which they offer
together. There, too, some Iroquois are to be
found, attracted by the odor of this good example,
and persuaded, by so noble a constancy, of the truth
of our holy Faith.

As the Iroquois have made conquests in all parts
of Canada, they give us means of opening the Treas-
ures of grace to every kind of Nation, by instructing
their Captives.

A poor Slave woman, taken in war and brought
from the North Sea, is experiencing a blessing, as
the effect of this instruction. When at the point of

212 LES RELA TIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol. 51

d'ouvrir les Trefors de la grace ^ toute forte de
Nations, par rinltrudtion de leurs Captifs.

Vne pauvre Elclave prife en guerre & amende de
la Mer du Nord, en reffent heureufement les effedts,
prefte de mourir, elle a receu le S. Baptefme avec
des difpofitions merveilleufes.

[54] Vne autre Captiue de la Nation des Loups, a
elle difpofee au Baptefme, avant que d'eflre brulee
felon la Sentence qu'on a portee contre elle. O qu'il
y a de plaifir de faire de femblables rencontres.

Nous ne prenons pas moins de foin pour la
confervation de la paix, que pour reftabliffement du
Chriftianifme, parce que I'un depend de I'autre : c'efl
ce qui nous a fait faire tons nos efforts pour conf erver
la vie k un Outaoliac, que les Iroquois d'Onnejout
avoient envoie icy comme une vidtime deftinee au
feu. On le fit entrer dans ce Bourg, pour nous en
derober toute connoiffance ; on prepare les feux qui
devoient 6clairer cette horrible nuit, choifie pour cette
cruelle execution. Par malheur il ne fe [55] trouvoit
icy pour lors aucun des Anciens, k qui il appartenoit
d'arelter ces violences; les ieunes gens qui ne ref-
pirent que la guerre, s'eftoient desja faifis de cette
proye, & 1' avoient enfermee dans une Cabanne toute
en feu, pour y executer a la fourdine leurs cruaut6s
ordinaires: une femme Iroquoife m'en vint avertir
en fecret, (c'eft le Pere Fremin qui parle) i'y cours
incontinent, ie parle, i'exhorte, mais en vain: ie
menace, ie fais retirer les femmes & les enfans: tous
m'obeiffent, a la referve de deux hommes, qui nonob-
ftant tous mes efforts continuerent h. bruler ce mife-
rable: ie fais le cry par toutes les rues du Bourg;
vieillards vous eftes morts, enfans il n'y a plus de vie

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 -68 213

death, she received Holy Baptism, with a marvelous
aptness for it.

[54] Another Captive woman, of the Nation of the
Loups, was prepared for Baptism, before being-
burned according to the Sentence that was pronounced
upon her. Oh, what pleasure there is in encoun-
tering such souls !

We take not less care for the preservation of peace
than for the establishment of Christianity, because
one depends upon the other. For that reason, we
put forth all our efforts to save the life of an Outa-
ouac whom the Iroquois of Onneiout had sent hither
as a victim destined for the fire. " They brought
him to this Village in order to keep all knowledge
of the matter from us; and the fires were prepared
which were to have lighted up that horrible night
chosen for this cruel execution. Unfortunately, it
happened that there was-not [55] here, at that time,
any one of the Elders, to whom it belonged to arrest
these acts of violence. The young people, who
breathe only war, had already seized this prey, and
had shut the man up in a Cabin which had all its
fires lighted, in order to execute their usual cruelties
there in concealment, when an Iroquois woman came
to notify me secretly of the affair." (It is Father
Fremin who is speaking.) " I ran to the spot in
haste; I spoke, I exhorted, but in vain. I threat-
ened; I made the women and children retire. All
obeyed me, with the exception of two men who, not-
withstanding all my efforts, continued to burn this
wretch. Through all the streets of the Village I
raised the cry: ' Old men, you are dead! Children,
no life remains to you! The peace is [56] broken.
Behold the Loups coming on one side, and, on the

214 LES RELA TIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol. 51

pour vous, la paix eft [56] rompue: voila les Loiips
qui viennent d'un cofte, & de I'autre ie vols Onontio
auec fon armee; Voftre terre va eflre renverfee, vos
Champs, vos Cabannes, vos Bourgades vont eftre
ruinees. Apr6s avoir couru toutes les rues faifant
ces cris, ie m'arreftay devant la Cabanne oil Ton
bruloit ce prifonnier, contre un des principaux articles
de la Paix ; mais la porte eftoit baricadee : ie crie plus
haut, difant que tout Ie pais eft perdu; on ne me
refpond point. Ie trouve par bon-heur un vieillard,
parent de ceux qui eftoient caufes de cette tragedie;
ie luy parlay ii efficacement, & mes menaces eurent
un tel elfet fur luy, qu'avec rautorit6 que fon age
& fon alliance luy donnoit, il alia retirer ce pauvre
homme du [57] milieu des feux, & me Ie remit entre
les mains. II f ut bien guery de f es bleffures ; mais
la vehemence de la douleur, iointe ^ la peur, luy
caufa une fievre, qui m'a donne tout loifir de I'in-
ftruire h. mon aife, & Ie preparer k fa derniere fin.
De fait 24. iours apres cet accident, il eft mort en
bon Chreftien, & ie ne doute plus que ce n'ait eft6
par une Providence toute particuliere, que i'ay fait
tous ces efforts pour fa liberte, afin de Ie delivrer en
mefme temps des feux des Iroquois & de ceux de
I'enfer.

Nous I'avons enterre avec bien de la ioye, & avec
toute la folennit6 qui fe peut garder dans Ie milieu
de cette barbaric. Tous nos Chreftiens y ont affift^
en bel ordre, & avec une modeftie qui [58] a ravy
les Iroquois, lefquels ont voulu voir cette ceremonie
h extraordinaire, & qui ne s'eftoit jamais pratiqu^e
chez eux. Ainfi peu a peu nous eftablirons Ie Roy-
aume de Iesvs-Christ, fur les mines de celuy de

\

1666-68] RELATION OF i66t -68 215

Other, I see Onontio with his army. Your land is
going to be devastated, your Fields, your Cabins,
your Villages are going to be ruined.' After run-
ning through all the streets with these cries, I halted
before the Cabin where the prisoner was being
burned — contrary to one of the principal articles of
the Peace; but the door was barricaded. I called
more loudly, saying that the whole country was lost ;
but I received no answer. By good luck, I found an
old man, a relative of those who were the authors of
this tragedy. I spoke to him so vigorously, and my
menaces had such an effect upon him, that, with the
authority which his age and his kinship gave him,
he proceeded to rescue this poor man from the [57]
midst of the flames, and handed him over into my
keeping. He was cured of his wounds, indeed ; but
the acuteness of the pain, together with the fear,
caused him a fever, which afforded me abundant
leisure to instruct him at my convenience, and to
prepare him for his end. In fact, 24 days after this
accident he died a good Christian ; and I no longer
doubt that it was by a very special Providence that
I made all those efforts for his liberty, in order to
deliver him at the same time from the fires of the
Iroquois and from those of hell."

We interred him with much joy, and with all the
solemnity that can be observed amid this state of
barbarism. All our Christians were present, in fine
order, and with a modesty of bearing that [58]
delighted the Iroquois, who wished to see this cere-
mony, which was so extraordinary to them, and had
never been observed among them. Thus, little by
little, we shall establish the Kingdom of Jesus
Christ upon the ruins of that of Satan, who is

216 LES RELA TIONS DES jASUITES [Vol. 51

Satan, qui fait tons fes efforts au contraire, comme
nous allons voir dans 1' article fuivant.

ARTICLE VI. DE L' YVROGNERIE DES IROQUOIS D'AGNIE
& DE SES MALHEUREUX EFFETS.

IL y a bien des empefchemens "k reftablifferaent de
la Foy parmi ces peuples, dont on a alTes parl6
dans les Relations precedentes: un des plus grands
dont on n'a pas encor fait mention, & dont le diable
fe fert bien avantageufement, [59] eft I'ivrognerie,
caufee par I'eau de vie, que les Europeans de ces
coftes 1^ ont commence k leur vendre depuis quel-
ques ann6es.

Elle eft fi commune icy, & y caufe de tels defordres,
qu'il femble quelque-fois que tons ceux du Bourg
font devenus fols tant eft grande la licence qu'ils fe
donnent, quand ils font pris de boiffon. On nous a
iett6 des tifons k la tefte ; on a mis nos papiers au
feu, on a forc6 noftre Chapelle, on nous a fouvent
menacez de la mort, & pendant les trois & quatre
iours que durent ces defordres, & qui arrivent aff6s
fouvent, il faut fouffrir mille infolences fans fe
plaindre, fans manger, fans repofer; ces furieux ren-
verfant tout ce qu'ils rencontrent, [60] & mefme fe
maffacrant les uns les autres, fans efpargner ni
parens, ni amis, ni compatriotes, ni eftrangers. Les
chofes vont quelque-fois ^ un tel exces, qu'il nous
femble que la place n'eft plus tenable; mais nous ne
la quitterons qu'avec la vie ; & cependant nous travail-
Ions toujours ^ ramaffer les precieux refles du fang
de Iesvs-Christ, qui n'a pas efte moins refpandu
pour ces pauvres Barbares, que pour le refte du
monde.

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 217

exerting all his efforts to the contrary, as we are
about to see in the followingf article.

e>

ARTICLE VI. OF THE DRUNKENNESS OF THE IROQUOIS
OF AGNIE, AND ITS UNFORTUNATE EFFECTS.

THERE are many hindrances to the establishment
of the Faith among these peoples, to which
sufficient reference has been made in the preceding
Relations; but one of the greatest, which has not yet
been mentioned, of which the devil avails himself
very advantageously, [59] is drunkenness, caused by
the brandy that the Europeans of these coasts began
to sell to the natives some years ago.

It is so common here, and causes such disorders,
that it seems sometimes as if all the people of the
Village had become insane, so great is the license
they allow themselves when they are under the influ-
ence of liquor. Firebrands have been thrown at our
heads, and our papers set on fire ; our Chapel has been
broken into; we have been often threatened with
death ; and during the three or four days while these
disorders last, — and they take place very often, — we
have to suffer a thousand acts of insolence without
complaint, without eating, and without repose.
Meanwhile, these furious creatures overthrow every-
thing they come to, [60] and even massacre one
another, without sparing either relatives or friends,
compatriots or strangers. These acts sometimes go
to such an excess that the place seems to us no longer
tenable ; but we shall leave it only with our lives.
Meanwhile, we are constantly working to gather up
the precious remnants of the blood of Jesus Christ,
which was shed not less for these poor Barbarians
than for the rest of the world.

218 LES RELATIONS DBS j£SUITES [Vol.51

Quand I'orage eft paffe, nous ne laiffons pas de
faire nos foncftions affes paifiblement ; nous avons
entre autres celebre la fefte de Noel avec toute la
devotion imaginable de la part de nos Neophytes,
dont plufieurs ont affifte a fix Meffes de fuitte : ainfi
Dieu [6i] ne nous laiffe pas toiijours dans I'aniertume.

Nous avons bien quarante Hurons qui font pro-
feffion publique du Chriftianifme, & qui font pour la
plus part en tres bon train, & dans une grande fer-
veur. Les trois premiers mois nous auons Baptife
une cinquantaine de perfonnes, dont deux femmes
Iroquoifes & deux Algonquines font en voye de falut,
comme nous avons fujet de le croire, veu les bons
fentiments, dans lefquels elles ont expire ; du depuis
nous en avons encor bien Baptife cinquante; &
de tout ce norabre, trente enfans. Sont avec toute
alTurance dans le Paradis.

Voila pour le prefent tout ce que nous pouvons
dire de cette Miffion de Sainte Marie, pour [62]
laquelle nous concevons de grandes efperances, fi la
paix dure, & fi nos Iroquois font humilies. Pour y
contribuer, nous avons iuge qu'il eftoit bon que le
Pere Pierron, apres avoir efte chez les Hollandois, ou
pluftoft les Anglois qui fe font rendus Maiftres de la
nouvelle Hollande, entreprift le voyage de Quebec
fur les glaces, pour informer MonGeur le Gouverneur
& Monfieur I'lntendant de I'eitat de ce pais; afin
qu'ayants toutes les lumieres neceffaires, ils puiffent
continuer ce grand ouvrage de la paix qu'ils ont fi
heureufement commence.

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 219

When the storm has passed, however, we can per-
form our functions peaceably enough; and, among
others, we have celebrated the Christmas holiday
with all the devotion imaginable on the part of our
Neophytes, several of whom were present at six
consecutive Masses. In this way, God [61] does not
leave us always in bitterness.

We have fully forty Hurons who make public pro-
fession of Christianity; for the most part, they are
making very good progress, and are very zealous.
During the first three months we Baptized fifty
persons, of whom two Iroquois and two Algonquin
women are in the way of salvation, as we have reason
to believe, in view of the pious feelings in which
they died. Since then, we have Baptized fully fifty
more ; and of this entire number thirty children are,
with all certainty, in Paradise.

That is, for the present, all that we can say about
this Mission of Sainte Marie, for [62] which we con-
ceive great hopes if the peace lasts, and if our Iro-
quois are humbled. To promote this end, we thought
it advisable that Father Pierron, after having visited
the Dutch, — or, rather, the English, who have made
themselves Masters of new Holland, — should under-
take the journey to Quebec on the ice, in order to
inform Monsieur the Governor and Monsieur the
Intendant of the state of this country — to the end
that they may, having all the information necessary,
be able to continue this great work of the peace,
which they have so happily begun.

220 LES RELA TIONS DES J&SUITES [Vol. 51

[63] CHAPITRE III.

DE LA MISSION DE S. FRANCOIS XAUIER CHEZ LES
IROQUOIS D'ONNEIOUT.

LE Pere lacques Bruyas eflant arriu^ ^ Agnie, en
compagnie des Peres Fremin, & Pierron, fe
fepara d'eux pour tirer vers la Bourgade d'On-
neiout, qui eft la feconde Nation des Iroquois Infe-
rieurs; la moins nombreufe en effet, mais la plus
fuperbe, & la plus infolente de toutes. II y arriva
dans le mois de Septembre de I'annee 1667. pour y
ietter les fondemens d'une nouvelle Eglife, a laquelle
la Prouidence I'avoit deftin^. Voicy comme il en
parle.

le ne fcaurois mieux commencer que par ce qui
s'eft paffe en [64] ce iour, auquel i'ay eu la confola-
tion de dire pour la premiere fois la Sainte Mefle
dans ma petite Chapelle, qui vient enfin d'eftre
acheuee par les propres mains de nos Iroquois,
lefpere que la fefte du Glorieux Archange S. Michel
me fera de bon augure, puis-qu'il eft le Prince de
r Eglife, il aura foin de celle-cy, qui ne fait que
naiftre, & luy donnera accroiflement.

Huit iours apr6s que i'eus ouvert la Chapelle, Dieu
m'a combl6 d'une ioye tres fenfible, dans I'heureufe
rencontre que i'ay fait d'une femme agee de 50. ans,
malade d'une opprefTion de poitrine & d'une fievre
continue, qui dans fes redoublemens la met ^ I'extre-
mite. Cette Ame predeftinee pour le Ciel, ayant

\

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 - 68 221

[63] CHAPTER III.

OF THE MISSION OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER AMONG THE
IROQUOIS OF ONNEIOUT.

FATHER Jacques Bruyas, having arrived at
Agni6 in company with Fathers Fremin and
Pierron, separated from them, in order to pro-
ceed toward the Village of Onneiout. This is the
second Nation of the Lower Iroquois, — although
really the least populous, the proudest, and most
insolent of all. He arrived there in the month of
September of the year 1667, to lay in that place the
foundations of a new Church, to which task Provi-
dence had assigned him. He speaks of it thus:

' ' I cannot better begin than with what happened
on [64] the day when I had the consolation of saying
Holy Mass for the first time in my little Chapel,
which at last has just been finished by our Iroquois,
with their own hands. I hope that the feast-day of
the Glorious Archangel St. Michael will be of good
augury to me, since he is the Prince of the Church.
He will have care of this one which has just been
born, and he will give it increase.

" A week after I had opened the Chapel, God filled
me with a very lively joy in the happy meeting I
had with a woman of 50 years of age, who was
afflicted with a congestion of the chest and a con-
tinual fever, which, in its repeated attacks, reduced
her to the last stage of weakness. This Soul pre-
destined for Heaven, having heard [65] her daughter

222 LES RELATIONS DES JJ^SUITES |A^ol. 51

oiiy [65] parler a fa fille de la priere que i'enfeignois
a faire tons les iours, luy temoigna qu'elle feroit bien
aife de me parler pour fe faire inflruire : ie me trans-
portay auffitofl dans fa Cabanne, ou ie trouvay un
cadavre anime, plutot qu'une femme vivante; Ce qui
m'obligea de luy parler du bon-heur que les Fideles
poffederoient en I'autre vie, & luy ouvrir I'efprit
pour les autres Myfteres de noftre Foy. Elle m'ef-
coute avee attention, & m'aflure qu'elle croit tout ce
que ie luy dis; I'y retourne tous les iours k plufieurs
reprifes: enfin la voyant tirer a la fin, & d'ailleurs
bien inftruite, ie I'ay Baptifee; & depuis i'ay toujours
reconnu dans elle vne affe<5tion tres fervente & tres
fmcere pour la priere.

Vn pen avat qu'elle expira, ie luy [66] fis faire les
adles propres des moribons, iufqu'a ce qu'ayant perdu
la parolle, elle ne me parloit plus que par fjgnes:
neanmoins luy ayant monftre Ie Crucifix, ie luy dis
pour la derniere fois, Agathe, (c'eltoit fon nom de
Baptefme) voila celuy qui eil; mort pour toy, ne I'aime
tupas? Veux tuencorl'offencer? alors faifant encor
un effort, elle dit diftindtement, oiiy ie I'aime, iamais
plus de pech6; ie croy en luy, il n'eft pas menteur
comme nous; & la parolle luy ayant manque aulfi
bien que I'vfage de fes mains qu'elle ne pouvoit plus
remuer, elle me fit figne des yeux & de la bouche,
d'approcher mon Crucifix, ce qu'ayant fait, elle Ie
baifa avec tant de devotion, que i'eus bien de la peine
de ne pas donner quelques larmes [67] k un fpectacle
li nouveau, d'une perfonne elev6e dans I'idolatrie, &
inftruite depuis fi pen de temps.

C'eft done ainfi que cette pauvre Iroquoife efl morte
entre les bras de Iesvs mourant; & c'eft ainfi que

I

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 - 68 223

speak about prayer, — which I taught them to offer
every day, — assured her that she would be very glad
to speak to me for the purpose of having herself
taught. I immediately went into her Cabin, where
I found an animated corpse rather than a living
woman ; this constrained me to speak to her of the
happiness that the Faithful would possess in the
other life, and to prepare her mind for the other
Mysteries of our Faith. She listened to me atten-
tively, and assured me that she believed all that I
told her. I returned to her several times every day,
and at last, seeing that she was approaching her end,
and, moreover, was well instructed, I Baptized her;
and since then I have constantly observed in her a
very fervent and sincere fondness for prayer.

' ' A little before she died, I [66] helped her make
the acts proper to the dying, until she lost the use of
her voice, and could no longer speak to me except
by signs. Nevertheless, showing her the Crucifix, I
said to her for the last time, ' Agathe ' (that was
her Baptismal name), ' behold him who died for
thee ; dost thou not love him ? Wilt thou still offend
him?' Then, making one more effort, she said
distinctly, ' Yes, I love him; never any more sin; I
believe in him, he is not a liar like ourselves.' And
her voice failing her, as well as the use of her hands,
which she could no longer move, she made me signs
with her eyes and her mouth to bring my Crucifix
nearer; and when I had done so, she kissed it with
so much devotion that I could hardly refrain from
shedding tears \6y'] at a spectacle so new, offered by
a person brought up in idolatry, and only so recently
instructed.

' ' In such manner, then, this poor Iroquois woman

224 LES RELA TIONS DES j£sUITES [Vol. 51

Dieu detrempe les dugouts & les ennuis qui font
infeparables de la fondtion ou ie fuis employe, &
qu'il adoucit les amertumes de ma folitude.

Cette feule vi(5toire fur le demon eft capable de
me donner de nouvelles forces pour le combatre, &
pour tout entreprendre, ou il s'agira de la gloire de
mon Maiftre.

Cette bonne femme "k laiffe une fille, qui eft un des
[plus] beaux naturels que ie connoiffe, & qui ne cedera
pas a fa mere, comme i'efpere. I'ay fceu d'elle une
chofe [68] fort rare parmy les Sauvages, & que ie ne
puis affes admirer dans la corruption vniverfelle des
autres; c'eft que jamais elle n'a viol6 la f oy coniu-
gale k fon mari. On I'a fouvent follicitee, & mefme
on luy ^ iette des forts pour la priver des fruits du
Mariage, mais ni la fterilit^, ni toutes les menaces
qu'o a pu luy faire, n'ont efte capables de I'ebranler
tant foit peu dans fon deffein de garder la chall:et6
coniugale.

Quelque temps apres le decez de cette Iroquoife,
i'ay envois au Ciel un petit enfant, que i'ay Baptif6
avant fa mort: c'eft un Ange qui priera pour la
converfion de fes Compatriotes. Quand ie n'aurois
fait autre chofe que de contribuer au falut de ces
deux Iroquois, ie m'eftimerois bien pay^ [69] de tout
ce que i'ay fouffert, & de ce que i'efpere fouffrir h.
I'avenir. Fattens un grand fecours de ces deux
Ames innocentes aupres de Dieu.

Ie me perfuade qu'ils ont desja oper6 en la per-
fonne d'un Iroquois d'Agni^, habitu^ icy depuis plu-
Ceurs ann^es, dont la converfion k des circonftances
qui meritent d'eftre raport^es. Cet homme ^ftoit
malade il y a long temps, d'une fluxion fur la

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 - 68 225

died in the arms of the dying- Jesus, and it is thus
that God mitigates the vexations and annoyances
which are inseparable from the service in which I
am engaged, and alleviates the hardships of my
solitude.

" This single victory over the evil one is capable
of giving me new strength to combat him, and to
undertake anything that has to do with my Master's
glory.

" That good woman left a daughter, who has one
of the noblest natures that I know of, and who will
not be inferior to her mother, as I hope. I have
learned something about her [68] which is very rare
among the Savages, and which I cannot sufficiently
admire amid the universal corruption of the others:
it is, that she has never violated her conjugal fidelity
to her husband. She has often been solicited, and
spells have even been cast upon her to deprive her
of the fruits of Marriage; but neither sterility nor
all the threats that could be made to her, have been
able to shake her in the least in her purpose to
guard her conjugal chastity.

" Some time after the death of the Iroquois
woman, described above, I sent to Heaven a little
child whom I Baptized before its death; it is an
Angel, who will pray for the conversion of its
Compatriots. Even if I had done nothing else than
contribute to the salvation of these two Iroquois, I
would deem myself well paid [69] for all that I have
suffered and hope to suffer in the future. I expect
great assistance from these two innocent Souls with
God.

" I am persuaded that they have already made
their influence felt in the person of an Iroquois from

226

LES RELA TIONS DES JESUITES [Vol. 51

poitrine. qui ne luy donnoit point de relache; fon
mal augmenta beaucoup depuis un voyage qu'il voulut
faire k Agni6, d'ou il retourna avec une fievre conti-
nue, qui I'obligea de chercher quelque remede pour
foulager fa douleur : i'avois par bon-heur encore une
medecine, que ie luy donnois plutot pour gagner [70]
fon affec5tion, que pour luy procurer une entiere
guerifon : en effet il me temoigna deslors qu'ils fou-
haitoit depuis long-temps d'eltre Chreftien, & me
pria de I'inftruire au plutofl : ie commen^ay de le
faire le mieux que ie pus, mais le demon fit bien-toft
avorter tous ces bons deffeins, & ie fus bien eftonne
lors qu'allant vifiter mon malade, ie le trouvay fl
61oign^ de croire en Iesvs-Christ, qu'il ne vouloit
pas mefme me regarder. II perfifta huit iours entiers
dans fon opiniaftrete, pendant lef quels il fut vifit^
d'un longleur, qui luy donna des grandes efperances
de recouvrer la fant6, & luy fit concevoir vne plus
grande averfion de la Robe noire. Cependant ie ne
ceffay de prier Dieu pour fa converfion, voyant bien
qu'il avoit peu de temps k vivre, [71] & i'interpofay
le credit de la Mere commune des Pecheurs envers
fon Fils, pour obtenir une parfaite penitence de cet
infidele : apres quoy ie retournay en la Cabane de ce
miferable, que ie trouvay fi foible & fi abatu, qu'^
peine pouvoit il parler; & bie luy dis-je, tu vois ou
fe terminet les belles promefTes de ton longleur, &
tu reconnois maintenant I'inutilite de fes fortileges:
6 que tu ferois bien mieux de me croire & de
m'ecouter, quand ie te promets, non pas de te rendre
la fant6 pour quelques annees, car ie mentirois, puis
que ton mal eft incurable ; mais ie t'alTure que tu
feras heureux dans le Ciel pour une Eternit6i Cou-

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 I'll

Agnie who has lived here for several years, and
whose conversion has circumstances that deserve to
be related. This man had been ill for a long time,
with an inflammation of the lungs which gave him
no respite ; and it had been much worse ever since a
journey that he undertook to make to Agnie, whence
he returned with a chronic fever, which obliged him
to seek some remedy to ease his pain. By good for-
tune, I had a medicine left, which I gave him, — more
to win [70] his affection than to procure him an entire
cure. In fact, he declared to me then that for a long
time he had wished to be a Christian ; and he begged
me to instruct him as soon as possible. I began to
do so, as well as I could ; but the demon soon brought
to naught all these good purposes, and I was much
astonished when, going to visit my patient, I found
him so far from believing in Jesus Christ that he
would not even look at me. He persisted in his
obstinacy for a whole week, during which he was
visited by a Juggler, who gave him great hopes of
recovering his health and made him conceive a greater
aversion for the black Gown. Nevertheless, I ceased
not to entreat God for his conversion, seeing well
that he had only a little while to live; [71] and I
used the power of the common Mother of Sinners
with her Son, to obtain for this infidel a thorough
repentance. After this I went back to the Cabin of
the wretched man, whom I found so feeble and so
low that he could scarcely speak. ' Well,' I said,
* thou seest how the fine promises of thy Juggler end ;
and thou knowest now the uselessness of his charms.
Oh, how much better thou wouldst do to believe me !
and to listen to me when I promise thee, not to give
thee back thy health for some years, — for I would

228 LES RELATIONS DES JESUITES [Vol.51

rage, mon frere, tu a pech^ en refufant d'entendre
la voix du Maiftre de nos vies ; mais il eft aff6s bon
pour te [72] pardonner, fi tu 6s marri de Tavoir
offenf^.

I'adioutay plufieurs autres chofes que le S. Efprit
m'infpira, & qui toucha en mefme temps le coeur de
ce pauvre homme qui ne ceffoit de pleurer, & me
difoit en fanglotant, i'ay pecli6 mon frere, ie n'ay
point d'efprit, mais ne m'abandonne pas, aye piti6
de moy, inftruis moy fans delay; ie feray plus fouple
deformais ^ efcouter ta parole, ie ne veux plus obeir
au demon : il accompagnoit fes paroles de tant de
larmes, que ie n'eu pas de peine a croire que Dieu
ne I'euft touchy.

Ie recommencay done mes inftrudtions, apres lef-
quelles ie luy donnay le Baptefme, auquel il a fur-
uefcu huit iours, pendant lefquels ie ne fcaurois
exprimer la [73] ferueur & la devotion qu'il a temoi-
gnee pour la priere.

Trois iours devant fa mort, il tomba en delire;
mais quoy qu'il n'entendift rien, quand on luy par-
loit d' affaire, il fembloit neanmoins retourner en fon
bon fens, quand ie luy parlois de la priere: I'efprit
luy retourna un iour avant fon trepas, que ie paffay
aupres de lui, pour le faire fouvenir de Dieu, «& pour
luy infpirer des penf6es propres pour I'eftat, oii il
fe trouvoit ; mais il n'avoit pas befoin de ma prefence
pour cela, car il ne faifoit que repeter iufqu'au
dernier moment de fa vie, les paroles, Iesvs ayez
pitie de moy, ie fuis marri de t' avoir offenfe.

I'attribiie cette converfion ^ la Sainte Vierge, qui
I'a impetr^ de fon Fils, & qui continue ainfi ^ [74]
me confoler dans ma folitude.

1666-68] RELATION OF ibbj -68 229

lie, since thy disease is incurable, — but, I assure
thee, that thou shalt be happy in Heaven for an
Eternity. Courage, my brother ! Thou hast sinned
in refusing to hear the voice of the Master of our
lives; but he is good enough to [72] pardon thee, if
thou art sorry for having offended him.'

' ' I added several other things, inspired thereto by
the Holy Ghost — who, at the same time, touched
the poor man's heart. He ceased not to weep, and
said to me, sobbing, ' I have sinned, my brother; I
have no sense ; but do not abandon me ; take pity on
me, and instruct me without delay. I will be more
ready to listen to thy words in the future ; I will
obey the demon no more.' He accompanied his
words with so many tears that I had no difficulty in
believing that God had touched him.

" I accordingly began my instructions again, after
which I gave him Baptism. He survived but a week ;
during that time he showed so great [73] fervor
and devotion for prayer that I cannot describe it.

" Three days before his death, he fell into a delir-
ium; but, although he understood nothing when he
was spoken to about ordinary affairs, he yet seemed
to recover his senses when I spoke to him about
prayer. His reason returned to him one day before
his death, — a day which I passed at his side, in order
to make him remember God, and to suggest to him
thoughts appropriate to the condition in which he
was. But he did not need my presence for that;
for, up to the last moment of his life, he did nothing
but repeat the words, 'Jesus, have pity on me; I
am sorry for having offended thee.'

" I attribute this conversion to the Blessed Virgin,
who, by her supplications, obtained it from her Son,

230 LES RELATIONS DES //:SUITES [Vol.51

Apr^s ce coup de grace, i'efpere avec la miferi-
corde de noftre bon Dieu, qu'aucun malade ne m'ef-
chappera, fans que ie le dif pof e k la mort ; quoy que
le nombre en foit fi grand, que i'ay bien de la peine
h. les viliter tous, & ils pouroient bien donner de
r employ h. un fervent MilTionnaire.

Quelques bonnes Chreftiennes Huronnes me vien-
nent au fecours ; une entre autres nomm^e Felicity,
qui fait parfaitement 1' office de Catecbifte. Ie fuis
furpris de I'entendre quelque fois faire fes exhorta-
tions k nos Catechumenes, & les inftruire de Vimpor-
tance de la priere, & de Texcellence de la Foy; fi
i'en avois beaucoup de femblables, tout ce Bourg
feroit bientoft converty.

[75] Ces douceurs font entremelees de bien des
Croix : la plus rude que i'ay eiie de ma vie, eft d'avoir
veu bruler icy quatre femmes, prifes fur la Nation
d'Andaftogu6, fans que j'aye pu leur adminiftrer le
faint Baptefme, pour les empefcher de paffer d'un
feu veritablement bien cruel, & qui me faifoit hor-
reur, a un autre incomparablement plus rigoureux.
I'ay fait ce que i'ay pu aupres d'elles, mais il m'a efte
impoffible d'en tirer aucune raifon, II n'y a pas vn
Onneiout dans ce Bourg, qui entende leur langue,
& qui en foit entendu. O que ce m'eftoit Ik une
rude & pefante Croix, de voir ces pauvres vidtimes,
letter fur moy du milieu de leurs flammes, des oeil-
lades tendres & fuppliantes, comme pour me deman-
der [76] quelque foulagement, & ne leur en pouvoir
donner, ny pour les peines qu'elles fouffroient alors,
ny pour celles oil elles alloient tomber.

I'ay efte un peu confole dans mon aflidtion, par
les bons fentimens de la fille de noftre Agathe, dont

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 - 68 231

and who continues thus to [74] comfort me in my
solitude.

" After this manifestation of divine favor I hope
that, through the pity of our good God, no sick
person will escape me without my preparing him for
death ; although their number is so large that I have
hard work to visit them all, and they could well give
employment to a fervent Missionary.

" Some good Christian women of the Hurons come
to seek my aid, — among others, one named Felicite,
who fills to perfection the office of Catechist. I am
surprised to hear her sometimes make her exhorta-
tions to our Catechumens, and instruct them in the
importance of prayer and the excellence of the Faith.
If I had many like her, this whole Village would be
very soon converted.

[75] These comforts are interspersed with many
Crosses. The heaviest I have had in my life was to
see four women, who had been captured from the
Nation of Andastogue, burned here without my
being able to administer to them holy Baptism, to
prevent them from passing out of a fire which was in
truth very cruel, and filled me with horror, into
another which would cause incomparably more pain.
I did what I could for them, but it was impossible for
me to draw from them any sign of intelligence ; for
there was not an Onneiout in that Village who under-
stood their language or could make himself under-
stood in it. Oh, what a severe and heavy Cross it
was for me to see those poor victims cast pathetic and
beseeching looks at me from the midst of their flames,
as if to ask me [76] for some relief; and to be unable
to give them any for either the pains which they

232 LES RELATIONS DES j£SUITES [Vol.51

i'ay parle, car m'eftant venue Irouver lors qu'on
amenoit ces Efclaves, & qu'on les recevoit ^ la mode
du pais, c'eft k dire avec une prodigieufe d'echarge
de coups de baftons; elle me demanda s'il y avoit du
mal d'aller voir leur reception; declarant qu'elle
eftoit refolue de ne point fortir de chez foy, de peur
de d^plaire ^ Dieu, par la veue de ce fpedlacle d'hor-
reur: cependant on faifoit des cris & des hu^es par
tout le Bourg, capables d'exciter la curiofite \jy'\ des
plus modeftes, & il ne faut pas une moindre vertu
pour s'abftenir de fe trouver a ces ceremonies, qu'il en
euft fallu autre fois, pour ne pas regarder les Entrees
triomphantes que faifoient les Romains dans leur
ville, apres quelque celebre vidloire; puis que c'eft
^ proportion la mefme chofe h. I'egard de nos
Sauvages, qui mettent toute leur gloire k ramener
des Captifs, & leur faire faire comme une entree
triomphante dans leur Bourg.

Le iour d'apres qu'on eut brul6 ces Captifs, cette
bonne femme s'informa de moy, s'il y avoit du mal
d'affifter k ces executions, & luy ayant refpondu
qu'elle n'offenceroit point Dieu, fi elle s'y trouvoit
fans aucun mouvement de hayne ou de vengeance, &
[78] fans prendre plaifir k la difgrace de ces mife-
rables; ie n'ay pas ofe, me dit elle, y aller, dans la
crainte de deplaire ^ Dieu. Ie n'ay point veu de
confcience plus delicate: i'admire fa generofite h,
prier Dieu en face des plus libertins : li elle continue
comme elle k commence, i'efpere qu'elle fera un iour
I'appuy de cette Eglife naiffante. Peut-eftre eft-elle
redevable de ce bonheur ^ fon mari, Huron de
Nation, autrefois Baptife par le feu Pere Garreau,

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667-68 233

suffered then, or those into which they were going
to fall !

" I was a little consoled in my affliction by the
excellent sentiments of the daughter of our Agathe,
of whom I have spoken ; for she came to find me
when those Slaves were being led in, and received
after the manner of the country, — that is, with a
prodigious discharge of blows from sticks; and she
asked me if there were anything wrong in her going
to see their reception. She declared that she was
resolved not to go out of her house, for fear of dis-
pleasing God by witnessing this spectacle of horror.
Meanwhile, shouts and yells were heard all over the
Village, calculated to arouse the curiosity [yy'\ of the
most retiring person ; and it needs not less virtue to
keep from joining in these ceremonies than would
have been required, in former times, not to look at
the triumphal Entries of the Romans into their city
after some celebrated victory. It is, relatively, the
same thing in the case of our Savages, who rest all
their glory on leading home their Captives and
having them make a triumphal entry, so to speak,
into their Village.

" On the day following the burning of these Cap-
tives, this good woman inquired of me whether there
were any harm in being present at such executions;
and when I told her that she would not offend God
if she were present without any motive of hate or of
vengeance, and [78] without taking pleasure in the
disgrace of those unfortunates, she said to me : ' I
did not dare to go, for fear of displeasing God.' I
have not seen a more delicate conscience; and I
admire her courage in praying to God before the
most irreligious; if she continues as she has begun,

234 LES RELATIONS DES JJ&SUITES [Vol.51

homme d'un bon natiirel, & fort port6 aux chofes de
fon Salut.

C'eft ainfi que ce petit troupeau va croiflant: ie
I'ay augment6 d6s les quatre premiers mois, de cin-
quante deux Ames, k qui i'ay confere le Sacrement
de Baptefme. Ce font la plus part des enfans; [79]
car pour les Adultes, il faut y proceder avec un grand
difcernement, de peur de faire plus d'Apoftats que
de Chreftiens. lis tiennent le fonge comme une
Divinite qu'ils adorent; & ils ont I'inftabilite du
mariage, comme une porte ouverte au defordre de
leurs convoitifes ; ce font deux grands obftacles h. la
Foy, & qui me rendent plus dificile k les admettre a
I'Eglife: neanmoins fi les prieres des Ames zel6es
pour la converfion des Sauvages obtiennent de la
mifericorde de noftre Seigneur, que nos Iroquois
demeurent dans 1' humiliation & dans la crainte; i'ef-
pere qu'en peu de temps, nous pourons elever icy,
fur les ruines de I'infidelit^, une Eglife fleuriffante,
& reduire ces efprits de fang & de cruaut6, [80] k la
douceur du Chriftianifme.

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 - 68 235

I hope that she will be some day the support of this
infant Church. Perhaps she is indebted for this
good fortune to her husband, a Huron by Nation, a
man of good disposition, and much inclined to the
things of his Salvation ; he was Baptized formerly
by the late Father Garreau.

"It is thus that this little band continues to
increase. Since the first four months, I have added
to it fifty-two Souls, on whom I have conferred the
Sacrament of Baptism. These are, for the most part,
children ; [79] for with Adults one must proceed with
great discernment, for fear of making more Apostates
than Christians. They regard a dream as a Divinity,
which they adore ; and they have, in the instability
of their marriages, an open door, as it were, to the
riot of their lusts. These are two great obstacles to
the Faith, which make it more difficult for me to
admit them into the Church. Nevertheless, if the
prayers of Souls zealous for the conversion of the
Savages obtain from the mercy of our Lord that our
Iroquois continue in a state of humiliation and fear,
I hope that in a short time we shall be able to erect
here a flourishing Church upon the ruins of infidelity,
and reduce those spirits of blood and cruelty [80] to
the gentleness of Christianity."

236

LES RELATIONS DES JASUITES [Vol. 51

CHAPITRE IV.

de la mission de s. lean baptiste, aux iroquois

d'onnontae.

NOVS fuivons la fituation des lieux dans I'ordre
des Chapitres; car apres la Nation d'Agni6, &
celle d Onneiout, tirant entre le Midy & le
Couchant, on rencontre Onnontae, grande Bourgade,
qui eft le centre de toutes les Nations Iroquoifes, &
oil fe tiennent tons les ans comme les Eflats gene-
raux, pour vuider les differents qui pouroient avoir
pris naiffance entre eux, pendant le cours de I'annee.
Leur Politique en cela eft tres fage, & n'a rien de
Barbara: car comme leur confervation depend [8i]
de leur vnion. Et comme il eft dificile que parmy
des peuples, oil la licence regne avec toute impunite ;
fur tout parmy les ieunes gens, il ne fe paffe quelque
chofe capable de caufer de la rupture, & de defunir les
efprits; ils font chaque annee une affemblee generale
dans Onnontae, ou tons les Deputes des autres Na-
tions fe trouvent pour faire leurs plaintes, & recevoir
les fatisfadlions neceffaires, par des prefents mutuels,
avec lefquels ils s'entretiennent ainQ en bonne intel-
ligence. C'eft ce qui fait que de toutes les MifQons
Iroquoifes, celle fur qui nous iettons les yeux avec
plus de complaifance, eft celle-cy; par ce que outre
ce que nous en venons de dire, elle a receu toute la
premiere les lumieres de I'Evangile, [82] & pent
paffer pour la plus ancienne Eglife des Iroquois.

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667-68 237

CHAPTER IV.

OF THE MISSION OF ST. JEAN BAPTISTE AMONG THE
IROQUOIS OF ONNONTAE.

WE follow the location of the places in the order
of the Chapters; for after the Nation of
Agnie and that of Onneiout, proceeding in
a Southwesterly direction, we reach Onnontae, — a
large Village, and the center of all the Iroquois
Nations, — where every year the States-general, so
to speak, is held, to settle the differences that may
have arisen among them in the course of the year.

Their Policy in this is very wise, and has nothing
Barbarous in it. For, since their preservation de-
pends [81] upon their union, and since it is hardly
possible that among peoples where license reigns
with all impunity — and, above all, among young
people — there should not happen some event capable
of causing a rupture, and disuniting their minds, —
for these reasons, they hold every year a general
assembly in Onnontae. There all the Deputies from
the different Nations are present, to make their com-
plaints and receive the necessary satisfaction in
mutual gifts, — by means of which they maintain a
good understanding with one another. Therefore,
of all the Iroquois Missions, the one which we regard
with the most complaisance is this one; because,
besides what we have just said about it, it was the
very first to receive the light of the Gospel, [82] and
can pass for the oldest Church among the Iroquois.

238

LES RELA TIONS DES j£SUITES [Vol. 51

La Providence a fait naiftre une occafion favorable
pour luy donner commencement, ou plutoi?t pour
retablir en fon premier eftat le Chriftianifme qui y
efloit floriffant, & le feroit encor, fi la perfidie de
quelques uns de ces Barbares n'euffent chaff e les
Pafteurs, il y a plus de dix ans, par la guerre qu'ils
renouvellerent alors contre les Fran9ois.

Le Fere lulien Garnier eftant mont6 pendant I'Eft^
dernier h. Onneiout, pour y travailler coniointement
avec le Pere Bruyas, au falut de ces peuples, fe vit
oblig6 par tous les motifs de charity, de donner
iufqu'k Onnonta^, qui n'eft 61oign6 que d'une petite
iournee.

[83] II y fut receu avec tous les temoignages de
cordialit6 & de bienveillance, qu'on pent fouhaiter
d'un peuple qui quoy que barbare & \sc. est] fort
affedtionn^ h. nos Peres; iufques Ik qu'ils luy firent une
douce violence pour Tempefcher de retourner k fon
Pofte, fe mettans en devoir de le contenter en tout ce
qu'il defireroit deux. Et comme il leur eut declare
qu'il ne pouvoit pas demeurer tout feul, & fans
Chapelle, Garakonti6, ce Fameux Capitaine, dont on a
tant parl6 dans les Relations precedentes, s'obligea de
fatisfaire k I'un & k 1' autre: & de fait en peu de
iours il mit fur pied une Chapelle, & aullitot apr6s
entreprit le voyage de Quebec, pour vifiter Monfieur
le Gouverneur, qui avoit defir6 de voir cet homme
[84] fi obligeant envers les Fran9ois, & pour emme-
ner avec foy quelques uns de nos Peres, qu'il venoit
demander, & dont il vouloit eftre le Conducfteur en
fon pais.

Pour faire^'mieux reuffir fon Ambaffade, il lie
partie avec^les quatre premieres teftes du Bourg, qui

1 666 - 68] Ji!ELA TION OF 1667 - 68 239

Providence has offered an opportunity favorable
for giving it a beginning, — or, rather, for restor-
ing to its first condition the Christian Church which
was flourishing there. It would still be prosperous,
had not the perfidy of some of those Barbarians
driven away the Pastors, more than ten years ago,
by the war which they then renewed against the
French.

Father Julien Garnier — who had gone up to
Onneiout last Summer, in order to work jointly with
Father Bruyas for the salvation of those tribes — saw
himself constrained, by all the motives of charity, to
devote himself to Onnontae, which is only a short
day's journey distant.

[83] He was received there with all the marks of
cordiality and good will that can be desired from
a people who, although barbarous, are very affection-
ately inclined toward our Fathers — even to the point
of doing him a gentle violence, in order to prevent
him from returning to his Post, undertaking to sat-
isfy him in all that he should desire of them. And,
as he had told them that he could not remain all
alone and without a Chapel, Garakonti^, that Famous
Captain of whom so much has been said in the pre-
ceding Relations, undertook to satisfy both of these
wants. In fact, in a few days he erected a Chapel.
Immediately after, he undertook the journey to Que-
bec, in order to visit Monsieur the Governor, — who
had desired to see this man [84] who was so obliging
to the French, — and to bring back with him some of
our Fathers whom he went to ask for, and whose
Escort to his own country he wished to be.

In order to make his Embassy more successful, he

240 LES RELATIONS DES JESUITES [Vol.51

reprefentoient les pri[n]cipales families dont il eft
compof^ : En cette Compagnie il arriva k Quebec le 20.
iour d'Aouft dernier; oil ayant paru devant Monfieur
le Gouverneiir & Monfieur I'lntendant, il fit cinq
prefents, qui eftoient comme les Truchemens des cinq
paroles, qu'il portoit de la part de toute fa Nation.

[85] ARTICLE I. PRESENS FAITS PAR GARAKONTI6,

AMBASSADEUR DES IROQUOIS D'0NN0NTA6.

IL PARLA EN CES TERMES A

M*^ LE GOUVERNEUR.

IE me fuis autres fois vante d'avoir fait pour la Na-
tion Frangoife, ce que jamais parmy nous un
Amy n'avoit fait pour un autre; ayant rachept^ plus
de vingt fix de fes Captifs, des mains de ceux qui
les auroient brules, fi ie ne les eufi!e retires; Mais
maintenant ie n'ofe plus me glorifier de ce que i'ay
fait en ce point ; dautant que vous, Onnontio ! avez
fait bien davantage pour nous, donnant la vie, non
feulement aux Onneiout qui eftoient parmy vous,
tandis que ceux, de la part de qui ils venoient
demander la paix, vous tuoient ; [86] mais de plus la
donnant k toute autant de perfonnes, qui compofent
nos cinq Nations, lors qu'ayant mene une puiffante
armee, & pouvant mettre toiis a feu & k fang, dau-
tant que chacun fuyoit devant elle, vous vous eftes
content^ d'humilier le feul Agnie; c'eft en quoy
vous avez furmont6 I'efperance que i'avois en la
clemence des Frangois; & c'eft de quoy auiourd'huy
ie vous viens remercier, & voudrois bien aufli eftre
capable de remercier noftre grand Roy Lovis, de ce
qu'il n'a pas defir6 noftre fang, ny noftre totale ruine ;
mais feulement de nous humilier.

2. Ie viens aufil nettoyer vos vifages des larmes,

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 - 68 241

associated himself with the four chief men of the
Village, who represented the principal families of
which it is composed. In their Company he arrived
at Quebec on the 20th day of last August, where,
appearing before Monsieur the Governor and Mon-
sieur the Intendant, he made five presents. These
were the Interpreters, as it were, of five words,
which he brought in behalf of the whole Nation.

[85] ARTICLE I. PRESENTS GIVEN BY GARAKONTIE,

AMBASSADOR FROM THE IROQUOIS OF ONNON-

TAE. HE SPOKE IN THESE TERMS TO

MONSIEUR THE GOVERNOR:

I FORMERLY boasted of having done for the French
Nation what never among ourselves had one
Friend done for another, — having ransomed more
than twenty-six of its Captives from the hands of
those who would have burned them, if I had not
rescued them. But now I no longer dare to glory in
what I have done in this respect, inasmuch as you,
Onnontio, have done much more for us. For you
have given life not only to the people of Onneiout
who were among you, while those in whose name
they came to ask for peace were killing you, [86] but
also in granting it to all those who compose our five
Nations. At the time when you brought a powerful
army and might have put all to fire and sword, —
inasmuch as every one fled before that army, — you
were satisfied to humble Agni6 alone. Thus you
exceeded the hope I had reposed in the clemency of
the French ; and for that reason I have come to-day
to thank you. I wish also that I could thank our
great King Louis for having desired neither our

242 LES RELATIONS DES JESUITES [Vol.51

que le Pere Garnier nous a dit avoir decoule [87] de
vos yeux, en fuitte de la mort de nos gens tues par
les Andaftoe

3. Le Pere Garnier en mettant le pied dans
Onnontague, dit que c'eftoit Onnontio. qui luy avoit
command^ partant de Mont-Royal, de nous venir
viliter, pour voir en quel eflat eftoit noftre pauvre
Nation. Cette courtoifie nous a tellement gagne le
coeur, que nous luy avons fait toutes fortes de
careffes, & I'avons prie de ne nous point quitter; k
quoi s'eftant accorde, moyennant que nous luy
fiffions une Chapelle, & que nous luy vinffons querir
un compagnon, nous auons fait I'un & I'autre: La
Chapelle fut faite deux iours apres fon arrivee; &
maintenant nous voicy venus, premierement pour
vous remercier [88] de ce que vous vous efte fouvenu
de nous ; & puis pour demander vne Robe-noire pour
luy fervir de compagnon. Donnez nous auffi un
Chaffeur.

4. Vous ne fgauriez douter de ma fidelite; ie vous
prie de croire que toutes nos Nations feront dorena-
vant dans le refpe(5t, qu'elles ont promis "k votre
grand Onnontio; n'^coutez plus les Hurons fugitifs,
qui vous veulent mettre en defiance envers nous.

5. Nous n'avons jamais tenu les Loups pour nos
ennemis, «& neanmoins ils nous tuent. Faites, 6
Onnontio ! que voftre voix retantilTe dans leur pais ;
& que dor^navant ils n'infeitent plus les chemins,
que vous & nous tenons pour nous entrevifiter: car
[89] autrement ils vous tueront bien-toft, auffi bien
que nous.

Apres qu'il eut ainfi parle, on luy fit refponfe par
autant de paroles, accompagn^es de cinq prefents.

1666 - 68J RELA TION OF 1667 - 68 243

blood, nor our total ruin, but merely our humilia-
tion.

2. I come also to wipe from your faces the tears
that Father Garnier told us had been shed [87] by
you, in consequence of the death of our people who
were killed by the Andastoe.

3. Father Garnier, on setting foot in Onnontague,
said that it was Onnontio who had ordered him, on
departing from Mont- Royal, to come and visit us, in
order to see in what condition our poor Nation was.
This courtesy so won our hearts that we lavished on
him all sorts of caresses, and begged him not to leave
us; and when he agreed to this, on condition that we
should build him a Chapel, and should come and get
a companion for him, we did both. The Chapel was
built two days after his arrival ; and you see us
here, first to thank you [88] for having remembered
us, and then to ask y6u for a black Gown to serve
him as companion. Give us also a Chasseur.

4. You cannot doubt my fidelity. I beg you to
believe that all our Nations will henceforth observe
the respect that they promised to your great Onnon-
tio. Do not listen any longer to the Huron fugitives,
who wish to make you distrustful of us.

5. We have never regarded the Loups as our
enemies, and yet they kill us. Make your voice, O
Onnontio, reecho in their country; and cause them
no longer to infest the roads which you and we travel
for exchanging visits; for [89] otherwise they will
soon kill you as well as us.

After he had spoken thus, he was answered by
the same number of words, accompanied by five
presents.

244

LES RELA TIONS DES JJ&SUITES [Vol. 51

RESPONSES DONNEES LE IJ. AOUST 1668. AUX PAROLES

DES IROQUOIS DE LA NATION D'ONNONTAGUE

PORTEES PAR LE CAPITAINE GARAKONTIE.

LE Fran9ois convient avec toy : tu as tef moign6 en
toute occafion, que tu I'aimois fi fortement,
qu'il en a receu des marques affur^es, qui ne fouffrent
pas qu'on doute de la verite de tes paroles; auffi il
t'a temoigne qu'il avoit cela fort agreable, & t'en a
marqu6 fa reconnoiff ance ; que les belles adtions font
eftimees meritoires, quand elles fe [90] foutiennent
par une conduite toujours egale. On efpere que la
tienne ne fe dementira jamais, & que tu infpireras ^
tes freres & a tes nepveux, de la tenir inviolable ^
regard des Frangois; puifque tu reconnois en eux
de fi bons fentimens de compafTion & de clemence, &
que tu es perfuade, que pouvant deftruire tes freres
& tes nepveux, ils ont eu la bonte de ne le pas faire.
Fais done perdre la penfee que tefmoigne avoir quel-
que ieuneffe eftourdie, d'entre tes freres & nepveux,
que fi les Fran9ois n'ont pas eft6 deftruire le Bourg
d'Onneiout, c'eft qu'ils ne I'ont pu, ou ne I'ont ofe
faire; & fais leur entendre, que quand il n'y auroit
icy prefentement aucunes troupes capables de telle
entreprife, [91] ce grand Onnontio, nomm6 Lovis, eft
fi puiffant & fi ialoux du refpedt que luy doivent fes
enfans; qu'il en envoyroit icy vingt fois davantage,
qu'il n'y en a prefentemet, au moindre advis qu'il
auroit, que quelque Iroquois des cinq habitations
auroit fait la moindre iniure, non feulement a fes
propres Subjets; mais encor ^ ceux des Nations
Sauvages, qui fe font mis foubs fa prote(5tion, & qui
I'ont reconnu comme leur Souverain, ainfi que tu as
fait pour tes cinq habitations. Pour cela un prefent.

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 - 68 245

ANSWERS GIVEN ON THE 27TH OF AUGUST, 1668, TO THE

WORDS OF THE IROQUOIS OF THE ONNONTAGUE

NATION, BROUGHT BY CAPTAIN GARAKONTIE.

^^T^HE Frenchman agrees with thee. Thou hast
1 shown on every occasion that thou didst love
him, so clearly that he has received assured evidences
of it, which do not admit any doubt of the truth of
thy words. He has also made it plain to thee that
this was very agreeable to him ; and he has shown
his gratitude for it. He declares also that noble
actions are esteemed meritorious when they [90] are
sustained by a conduct always constant. It is hoped
that thine own conduct will never belie itself; and
that thou wilt inspire thy brothers and nephews to
observe it inviolably, as far as the French are con-
cerned,— since thou recognizest in them so excellent
sentiments of compassion and clemency; and since
thou art persuaded that, although they could have
destroyed thy brothers and thy nephews, they had
the kindness not to do so. Then dispel the thought
which some giddy young people among thy brothers
and nephews seem to have, that, if the French have
not destroyed the Village of Onneiout, it is because
they could not or did not dare to do so. Make them
also understand that, even if there were not at pres-
ent any troops here who are capable of such an
enterprise, [91] the great Onnontio named Louis is
so powerful, and so jealous of the respect that his
children owe him, that he would send hither twenty
times as many as there are here now, on the least
notice that he should receive that some Iroquois of
the five settlements had done the slightest injury, —
not merely to his owm Subjects, but even to those of
the Savage Nations who have put themselves under

246 LES RELATIONS DES J&SUITES [Vol.51

2. La part que le Frangois a pris par fes larmes,
k la mort de tes freres tues par les Andaftogue, eft
un effet de la tendreffe qu'il a en qualite de Pere,
pour toy, comme pour fon enfant ; & [92] la recon-
noiflance que tu temoigne pour la grace qu'il t'a fait
en cela, I'obligera k t'en faire d'autres en toute occa-
fion; ainfi prens toujours le chemin de tefmoigner de
la gratitude pour les biens-faits receus; parce que
c'eft le moyen le plus propre de te conferver fa bien-
veillance & de te perpetuer fa faveur. Pour cela un
prefent.

3. On t'accorde d'autant plus volontiers ce que
tu demande, que d'un cofte tu as bien receu la pre-
miere grace, que Ton t'a faite par I'envoy du Pere
Garnier, en le traittant f avorablement ; mais encore
en le faifant feftoyer par toute ta Cabanne, & luy
faifant dreffer une Chapelle, ou il pent te faire faire
la priere & a tes freres, pour te procurer ton [93]
Salut & ^ eux ; qui eit le plus grand bien que tu
puiffes recevoir; & que d'ailleurs tu temoigne recon-
noiffance de ce bien receu. Pour cela un prefent.

4. Le Fran9ois t'a desja dit qu'il n'a jamais dout6,
& doute moins encore au iourd'huy de ta fidelite &
de la verite de tes paroles : & tu dois eftre perf uade
qu'eftant en eftat de prevenir, non tes infidelites per-
fonelles, mais celles dont tes freres & tes neueux
peuvent eftre capables; ils ne te donneroient pas le
temps de les faire paroiftre, en portant chez toy la
guerre & te detruifant tout d'un coup, fans qu'il
reftaft des veftiges de ta Nation; & pour marque
qu'il fe confie en tes paroles, & qu'il eft allure d'ail-
leurs qu'il te pourra toujours punir, fi tu [94] fouffre
qu'il s'en viole aucune, c'eft qu'il t'envoie une

1 666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 - 68 247

his protection, and have acknowledged him as their
Sovereign, as thou hast done for thy five settlements."
For that word, a present.

2. " The interest that the Frenchman has shown
by his tears in the death of thy brothers, slain by the
people of Andastogue, is a result of the tenderness
he feels, in his quality of Father, for thee as for his
child ; and [92] the gratitude thou showest for the
favor he has done thee in that particular, will oblige
him to do thee others on every occasion. Therefore
always pursue the course of showing gratitude for
benefits received, because it is the most fitting means
of retaining his good will, and continuing his favor
toward thee." For that, a present.

3. " What thou askest is granted thee the more
willingly because, on one hand, thou hast well
received the first favor shown thee, in sending Father
Garnier. Thou hast shown this by treating him
kindly, and still more by having thy whole Cabin
entertain him ; and by having a Chapel built for
him, where he can make thee and thy brothers
pray, — in order to procure for thee thy [93] Salvation
and theirs, which is the greatest blessing thou canst
receive, — and also that thou mayst manifest grati-
tude for this benefit received." For that, a present.

4. " The Frenchman has already told thee that
he has never doubted, and doubts still less to-day,
thy fidelity, and the truth of thy words. Thou must
also be persuaded that, as he is in a condition to fore-
stall, not merely thy personal acts of infidelity, but
also those of which thy brothers and thy nephews
may be capable, he will not give thee time to make
them manifest, but will carry war into thy country
and destroy thee suddenly, without leaving any

248

LES RELA TIONS DES j£SUJTES [Vol. 51

Robe noire, & qu'il fera paffer la ieuneffe dans tes
habitations, pour s'employer avec toy h. la deffence
commune. Pour cela un prefent.

5. Le Frangois ne craint point le Loup, & il ne
peut fe perfuader qu'il le veuille tuer; & s'il I'entre-
prenoit, il ne feroit pas plus exempt de fa ruine &
de fa deftrucflion totale, que les autres ennemis. II
faut que tu fcaches que le Loup a fait entendre que
r Iroquois luy faifoit la guerre, & quoy qu'il n'y euft
que tes nepveux d'Onneiout & d'Agnie, h. ce que tu
pretends, il a fait connoiftre qu'il y a eu fouvent des
ieunes gens de ta Cabanne, & des autres Nations
fuperieures, qui luy ont porte la guerre avec tes [95]
neveux. II feroit done bon que tu fiffe en forte que
tes neveux ceffaffent de faire la guerre aux Loups,
afin que le Frangois peuft avec iuftice luy deffendre
de la faire h. 1' Iroquois, de quelque Nation qu'il foit.
Cependant Ton luy fera entendre h. la premiere occa-
fion, qu'il te diftingue, puis que tu ne veux point de
guerre avec luy; car nous voulos bien prendre tes
interefts en toutes les rencontres; & cette Nation
des Loups h. adjout6, que quand il a recherche
I'auteur de la mort, & qu'il s'eft adreife k ceux
d'Agni6 & d'Onneiout, il a receu pour refponfe,
qu'ils n'eftoient pas les meurtriers, & que les
cafle-teftes venoient de vos trois Nations fuperieures,
Onnontae, Gioen, Sonnontoiian. [96] Pour cela un
prefent.

Les AmbalTadeurs bien contents de ces prefens,
s'en retournerent, emmenant avec eux le Pere de
Carheil, & le Pere Milet pour travailler k leur
converfion.

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 -68 249

vestiges of thy Nation. But, as a mark of his confi-
dence in thy words, and of his conviction, besides,
that he will always be able to punish thee if thou [94]
permit any one of thy words to be violated, he sends
thee a black Gown, and will send young men into thy
settlements, to engage with thee in the common de-
fense." For that, a present.

5. " The Frenchman does not fear the Wolf, and
he cannot persuade himself that the latter wishes to
kill him ; but, if he should attempt it, he would not
be more exempt from ruin and total destruction than
are the other enemies. Thou must know that the
Wolf has declared that the Iroquois was making war
upon him; and although, as thou claimest, only thy
nephews of Onneiout and of Agnie did so, he has
declared that there were often young men of thy
Cabin, and of the upper Nations, who made war upon
him in company with thy [95J nephews. It would
then be well for thee to take such action that thy
nephews should cease to make war on the Loups,
in order that the Frenchman may with justice forbid
the latter to make war on the Iroquois of whatever
Nation. Nevertheless, the Loups will be told, on
the first opportunity, to make a distinction in thy
case, since thou wilt not make war upon them ; for
we are willing to defend thy interests on all occa-
sions. This Nation of the Loups has also added
that, when they have inquired as to the author of
the murder, and have appealed to the people of
Agnie and of Onneiout, they have received answer
that the latter were not the murderers ; but that the
head-breakers came from your three upper Nations,
Onnontae, Gioen, and Sonnontouan." [96] For that,
a present.

250 LES RELATIONS DES J^SUITES [Vol.51

ARTICLE II. HEUREUSES RENCONTRES POUR LE BAP-
TESME D'UN IROQUOIS.

LE premier fruit de cette Miffion, fut un coup de
Providence bien favorable pour un pauvre mori-
bond, que le P. Garnier trouva en chemin, fur les
bords du grand Lac Ontario, ^trente lieues d'Onnon-
ta6. Get homme Iroquois de Nation, avoit efpouf6
une Huronne Chreftienne, k qui il eft bien redevable
de fon Salut: II eftoit [97] pour lors fi bas, d'une
maladie qui le tenoit depuis deux ans, qu'il avoit
prefque perdu tout fentiment, n'entendant & ne
connoiffant plus perfonne; ce qui fut caufe qu'il
demeura fort long-temps, fans pouuoir repondre k
tout ce que le Pere luydifoit; iufqu'k ce que reve-
nant k foy, par un grand effort qu'il fit, il pouffa ces
paroles du fond du cceur, le meurs content puifque
Dieu m'a enfin accords ce que ie luy ay fi inflam-
ment demande depuis deux ans. II n'en pent pas
dire davantage, mais fa femme eftant furvenue 1^
deffus, elle expliqua plus au long la penf6e de fon
mari. O I'heureufe rencontre pour nous, dit cette
femme, de t'avoir conduit icy fi "k propos pour difpo-
fer mon mari k mourir en bon Chreftien; i'avois [98]
refolu d'aller chercher une Robe noire iufqu'k
cinquate lieues d'icy, mais noftre bon Dieu a prevenu
nos deffeins. Tu vois ce pauvre moribond, difoit-
elle au Pere, que i'ay fait prier Dieu tons les jours
depuis le temps qu'il eft malade, & fur tout ie me
fuis appliquee cet Hyver dernier, a I'inftruire des
chofes de I'autre vie le mieux que i'ay pu: ie luy ay
fouvent repete, que pour eftre vray Ghreflien, il faut
porter au Giel tons fes defirs, & y placer toutes fes
efperances ; qu'il n'avoit plus rien k fouhaitter en ce

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 251

The Ambassadors, well pleased with these presents,
went back again, taking with them Father de Carheil
and Father Milet to labor at their conversion.

ARTICLE II. OCCURRENCES FORTUNATE FOR THE
BAPTISM OF AN IROQUOIS.

THE first fruit of this Mission was an act of Provi-
dence, highly advantageous to a poor dying
man whom Father Gamier found on the way, on the
shores of the great Lake Ontario, thirty leagues from
Onnontae. This man, an Iroquois by Nation, had
married a Christian Huron woman, to whom he was
much indebted for his Salvation. At the time he
was found, he was [97] so low from an illness, to
which he had been subject for two years, that he had
lost almost all feeling, no longer hearing or recogniz-
ing any one. Thus it was that he remained for a
long time without being able to answer anything that
the Father said to him ; until, recovering his faculties
by making a great effort, he broke forth in the
following words, which came from the bottom of his
heart: " I die happy, since God has at last granted
me what I have been so urgently asking from him
for two years." He could not say more, but his
wife, approaching at this point, explained more at
length her husband's thought. " Oh, what a lucky
accident for us," she exclaimed, " that has led thee
hither so seasonably, to prepare my husband to die
as a good Christian ! I had [98] resolved to go and
bring a black Gown, even if I had to go fifty leagues
hence ; but our good God has anticipated our plans.
Thou seest this poor dying man," she said to the
Father, " whom I have made pray to God every day
since he has been ill ; and, especially this past

252 LES RELATIONS DES JESUITES [Vol. 51

monde; qu'il ne luy reftoit plus qu'a obtenir par fes
ferventes prieres, d'eftre dn nombre des Bien-
heureux dans le Ciel.

Voilk les propres paroles de cette bonne Huronne,
par la bouche de laquelle le Saint Efprit parloit ; [99]
fur tout quand elle adiouta ces mots : Voicy le temps
precieux, difoit-elle ^ fon mari, efcoute maintenant
la Robe-noire, c'eft luy qui t'ouvrira la porte du Ciel
"k laquelle tu frapes depuis fi long-temps-

Providence de Dieu infiniment adorable! depuis
dix ans aucun Preftre ne s'eftoit trouue 1^, depuis deux
ans ce malade a vef cu comme par miracle ; & eflant
preft de mourir, Dieu luy conduit comme ^ point-
nomm6 le Pere, lequel eftant preff6 de partir de ce
lieu qui n'eftoit qu'un paffage, n'eut autre loifir que
de conferer le Baptefme ^ ce moribond fi bien difpofe,
qui mourut le lendemain entre les bras & parmy les
prieres de fa femme, qui par fes ferveurs luy avoit
procure ce bon-heur.

Voila comme on trouve la Brebis [100] 6gar6e dans
ces vaftes forelts, il faut bien courir pour la rencon-
trer ; mais ce font des courf es heureufes & des peines
bien agreables quand elles fe terminent au falut d'un
pauvre Sauvage.

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 253

Winter, I have been diligent in instructing liim as
well as I could in the things of the other life. I
have often repeated to him that, to be a true Chris-
tian, he must repose all his desires and all his hopes
in Heaven ; that he had nothing further to wish for
in this world ; and that the only thing left for him
to do was to gain, by his fervent prayers, admittance
to the number of the Blessed in Heaven."

Those were the very words of this good Huron
woman, out of whose mouth spoke the Holy Ghost, —
[99] above all, when she added these words: " Now
is the precious opportunity," said she to her hus-
band ; ' ' hear now the black Gown ; it is he who will
open to thee the door of Heaven, at which thou hast
been so long knocking. ' *

Infinitely adorable Providence of God! For ten
years no Priest had been there ; for two years this
sick man had been kept alive as by a miracle ; and,
when he was ready to die, God brought the Father
to him, as if by appointment. He, being in haste to
leave this place, at which he had merely stopped on
the way, had only leisure to administer Baptism to
the dying man, who was already so well prepared
for it. He died on the following day, in the arms
and amid the prayers of his wife, who by her fervor
had procured this happiness for him.

See how the stray Sheep is found [100] in these
vast forests. One must travel far to find it, but
these are happy journeys, and truly agreeable diffi-
culties, when they end in the salvation of a poor
Savage.

f

254 LES RELA TIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol. 51

CHAPITRE V.

DE LA MISSION DE SAINT lOSEPH CHEZ LES IROQUOIS

D'OiOGOUEN, & DE CELLE D'UNE COLONIE

D'OiOGOUENS NOUVELLEMENT ESTABLIE SUR

LES COSTES DU NORD DU LAC ONTARIO.

LE Pere Eftienne de Carheil & le Fere Pierre
Millet eftants montes aux Iroquois, comme
nous avons dit, vont partager leurs foins &
leurs travaux, Tun eftant deftine pour Onnontae, &
I'autre pour Oiogouen.

[loi] C'eft une quatrieme Nation Iroquoife €\o\-
gnee de trente lieues ou environ, de celle d'Onnonta^,
montant toujours entre rOccident & le Sud. Ces
peuples font aff ^s bonnaces pour des Iroquois ; iamais
h. proprement parler, ils n'ont porte les armes contre
les Frangois; & fi quelques-uns I'ont fait, ce n'a efte
que par engagement de partie, & non par deflein
forme, ny moins par concert de toute la Nation. Ils
font affes fufceptibles des bonnes impreffions qu'on
leurdonne; Nous I'avons 6prouv6, lorfque nous les
cultivios il y a dix ans, & le feu Pere Menard qui
eil:oit leur Pafteur, s'eft toujours beaucoup lou6 de
leur docilite: II avoit bafti une Chapelle au milieu
de leur Bourgade, qu'ils frequentoient avec bien
de I'affedtion [102] & c6t Efte dernier, I'Hofte chez
qui nous demeurions, a entrepris expr^s le voyage,
avec quelques uns de fes compatriotes, pour venir

I

I

1666-68] RELATION OF j667 -68 255

CHAPTER V.

OF THE MISSION OF SAINT JOSEPH AMONG THE IROQUOIS

OF OIOGOUEN, AND OF THAT TO A COLONY OF

OIOGOUENS RECENTLY ESTABLISHED ON

THE NORTH SHORE OF LAKE ONTARIO.

FATHER Estienne de Carheil and Father Pierre
Millet, having gone up to the Iroquois, as we
have said, are going to share their cares and
their labors, — one being assigned to Onnonta^, and
the other to Oiogouen.

[loi] The latter is the fourth Iroquois Nation, dis-
tant thirty leagues or thereabout from that of Onnon-
tae, as one continues in a Southwesterly direction.
This tribe is quite peaceable, for Iroquois; they
have never, properly speaking, borne arms against
the French ; even if some have done so, it has been
only owing to some alliance, and not by preconceived
plan, and still less through agreement of the whole
Nation. They are sufficiently susceptible to good
impressions made upon them, as we found by experi-
ence when we instructed them, ten years ago; and
the late Father Menard, who was their Pastor, always
highly praised their docility. He had built a Chapel
in the middle of their Village, which they were very
fond of frequenting. [102] This last Summer, the
Host with whom we used to live undertook the jour-
ney, with some of his fellow-countrymen, expressly to
come and ask for some of our Fathers, to reestablish
among them the Faith that we had planted there.

256 LES RELATIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol.51

demander de nos Peres, qui puilTent reltablir chez
eux la Foy, que nous y avions plantee.

Nous contentons leurs delirs, leur accordant le P.
de Carheil, qui va remettre fur pied cette Eglife,
compof^e de quelques Iroquois, & d'un bon nombre
de Hurons.

Mais parce que la crainte des ennemis a oh\\g€
quelques uns de cette Nation k s'^carter, & ^ s'aller
placer fur les Coftes du Nord du grand Lac Ontario,
ce detachement des Oiogouens, ou plutoft cette nou«
velle peuplade avoit befoin de Pafteurs pour confirmer
I'efprit de la Foy dans cette nouvelle Eglife, que
nous avons cultivuee [103] pendant deuxann^es; &
c'efl ce qui a efte fait dignement par M. de Fenelon
& M. Trouve, deux fervens Miffionnaires, qui y ont
efte enuoyes par Monfeigneur 1' Evefque ; mais comme
ils ne font partis que fur la fin de I'Efle, auffi bien
que les deux Peres, ny les uns ny les autres n'ont
pas encor pu envoyer aucune nouvelle de ce qui s'eft
paff6 dans ces nouvelles Eglifes.

1666-68] RELATION OF ibbj -68 Ibl

We satisfy their desires by granting them Father
de Carheil, who is going to place this Church once
more upon its feet; it is composed of some Iroquois
and a goodly number of Hurons.

But, because the fear of the enemy has obliged
some of that Nation to separate from the rest, and
go and settle on the North Shore of the great Lake
Ontario, this detachment of the Oiogouens — or,
rather, this new colony — needed Pastors to confirm
the spirit of the Faith in the new Church that we
had cultivated [103] for two years. This want was
remedied in a worthy manner by Monsieur de Fene-
lon and Monsieur Trouv^, two fervent Missionaries
who were sent thither by Monseigneur the Bishop;
but as they only set out toward the end of the Sum-
mer, as did also the two Fathers, neither party has
yet been able to send any news of what has happened
in those new Churches i

258 LES RELA TIONS DES j£SUITES [Vol. 51

CHAPITRE VI.

DE LA MISSION DU S. ESPRIT, AUX OUTA-

OiJACS.

1L n'eft pas neceffaire de repeter le denombrement
de toutes les Millions qui dependent de celle-cy ;
& dont il fut parl6 de chacune en particulier
dans la demiere [104] Relation: il fujBfit de dire que
les trauaux, la famine, I'indigence de toutes chofes,
le mauvais-traitement des Barbares, les rifees des
Idolatres, font les partages le plus pretieux de ces
Miffions.

Comme ces Peuples pour la plus part, n'ont jamais
eu aucun commerce avec les Europeans, il eft difficile
de s'imaginer I'exces d'infolence, oil les porte leur
Barbaric; & la patience, dont il faut eftre arm6 pour
les fupporter.

II faut avoir affaire h. vingt ou trente Nations,
differentes de langage, de mceurs & de Police. II
faut tout fouffrir de leur mauvaife liumeur & de leur
brutalite, pour les gagner par douceur & par affedtion :
il faut fe faire en quelque fa§on Sauvage avec ces
Sauvages, mener une vie de Sauvage [105] avec eux;
viure quelque-fois de la mouffe, qui croift sur les Ro-
chers ; quelquefois des arrefles broy^es, qui tiennent
lieu de farine ; quelquefois de rien, paffant les trois
& quatre iours fans manger, comme eux, qui ont
I'eltomac fait h. ces fatigues: mais auffi qui mangent
fans s'incommoder, en un feul iour, pour huit

I

1

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 - 68 259

CHAPTER VI.

OF THE MISSION OF ST. ESPRIT AMONG THE
OUTAOUACS.

IT is not necessary to repeat the enumeration of all
the Missions that depend on this one; mention
was made of each one in detail, in the last [104]
Relation. It suffices to say that toil, famine, scarcity
of all things, ill treatment from the Barbarians, and
mockery from the Idolaters, form the most precious
portion of these Missions.

As these Tribes have, for the most part, never had
any intercourse with Europeans, it is difficult to
imagine the excess bf insolence to which their
Barbarism carries them, and the patience with which
one must be armed, in order to bear with them.

We have to do with twenty or thirty Nations, all
different in language, customs, and Policy. We have
to bear everything from their bad humor and their
brutality, in order to win them by gentleness and
affection. One must make himself, in some sort, a
Savage with these Savages, and lead a Savage's life
[105] with them; and live sometimes on a moss
that grows on the Rocks, sometimes on pounded fish-
bones,— a substitute for flour, — and sometimes on
nothing, — passing three or four days without eating,
as they do, whose stomachs are inured to these hard-
ships. But they also eat without inconvenience, in
a single day, enough for a week, when they have an
abundance of game or of fish. Fathers Claude Alloez

260 LES RELATIONS DES J&SUITES [Vol.51

iours, quand ils ont abondance de chaffe on de pefche.
Les Peres Claude Alloez & Louys Nicolas ont paff6
par ces epreuves ; & fi les penitences & les mortifica-
tions contribuent beaucoup ^ la converfion des Ames,
on pent dire qu'ils menent une vie plus auftere, que
celle des plus grands Penitents de la Thebaide; &
ne ceffent pas pourtant de s' employer infatigable-
ment a leurs fondtions Apoftoliques ; [io6] qui font
de Baptifer les enfans, inftruire les Adultes, confoler
les malades & les difpofer pour le Ciel; miner
ridolatrie, & faire retentir le fon de leurs parole
iufques aux extremites de ce bout du Monde.

Le Pere lacques Marquette eft all6 au fecours auec
noftre Frere Louys le Boeme ; & nous ef perons que
les fueurs de ces genereux Miflionnaires, qui arrou-
fent ces terres, les rendront fertiles pour le Ciel. lis
ont Baptif6 depuis un an quatre vingt enfans, dont
plufieurs font en Paradis: C'eft ce qui effuie toutes
leurs peines, & ce qui les fortifie a fubir tous les
trauaux de cette Miffion.

La Providence leur fait encor gouter quelque
douceur, quand elle leur fait tomber des malades
[107] qui tendent k la mort, & qu'ils difpofent k la
vie Eternelle,

C'eft ce qui eft arrive en la perfonne d'un des plus
conliderables de ces Peuples; lequel eftant Baptif6
depuis plufieurs annees, n'avoit eu aucune demeure
ftable, mais menant une vie errante par ces grands
bois, rodoit tantoft d'un cofte, tantoft de I'autre, en
cinq ou fix cens lieues de pais.

Dieu neanmoins difpofa fi bien la derniere annde
de fa vie, que contre fa coutume, il fe refolut
d'hyverner proche de la demeure du Pere Alloez ; fans

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 261

and Louys Nicolas have passed through these trials ;
and if penances and mortifications contribute greatly
to the conversion of Souls, it can be said that they
lead a life more austere than that of the greatest
Penitents of the Thebaid, and yet do not cease to
occupy themselves indefatigably in their Apostolic
functions. [106] These are: Baptizing the children,
teaching the Adults, comforting the sick and pre-
paring them for Heaven, overthrowing Idolatry, and
making the utterance of their message resound to the
extremities of this end of the World.

Father Jacques Marquette went to their aid, with
our Brother Louys le Boeme ; and we hope the sweat
of these brave Missionaries, which is watering those
lands, will render them fertile for Heaven. Within
a year they have Baptized eighty children, of whom
several are in Paradise. That mitigates all their
hardships, and fortifies them to undergo all the
labors of that Mission.

Providence makes them taste some sweetness, too,
when it causes to fall into their hands sick people
[107] who are on the point of death, and whom they
prepare for the life Eternal.

This happened to one of the most important men
of these Tribes, who had been Baptized several years
before. He never had any fixed residence, but,
leading a wandering life in these great woods, he
roamed now in one direction, now in another, over
five or six hundred leagues of territory.

Yet God ordered the last year of his life so well that,
contrary to his custom, he decided to winter near the
dwelling of Father Alloez ; this was doubtless from a
presentiment of his good fortune, in order to be aided
in his last illness and at his death by the Father, who

262 LES RELATIONS DES jiSUITES [Vol.51

doiite par tin prefentiment de fon bon-heur, afin
d'eflre affifle en fa derniere maladie & en fa mort,
par le Pere, qui ne manqua pas k ce pauvre vieillard.
Comme il fut prefl d'expirer, il fit fon feflin [io8]
d'adieu, ^ une grande Affembl6e, qui fut convocquee
pour cela de diverfes Nations. C'eftoit pour garder
leur coutume, dont il fe fervit avantageufement pour
la Foy ; car il parla k tout ce grand monde, k la verite
d'une voix mourante; mais d'un ton de Capitaine, &
en termes energiques, leur declarant qu'il avoit vefcu
Chreftien depuis long temps, & que mourant Chre-
ftien, il fe tenoit affeure du bonheur promis "k tons
les Croyans. Et qu'eux au contraire, qui ne vou-
loient pas ecouter la parole de Dieu, feroient tour-
mentes apres leur mort par les Demons, bien plus
cruellement fans comparaifon, qu'ils ne tourmentent
un Iroquois, quand ils le tiennent entre leurs mains :
qu'au refte il [109] mouroit volontiers dans I'efperance
du Paradis, & que s'ils eftoient fages, ils ne diffe-
roient pas davantage de fuivre fon exemple. Apres
ces paroles qu'il donna a la Charity de fes Compatri-
otes, il fongea tout de bon ^ foy-mefme, & apres
s'eftre confeffe iufques ^ quatre fois, il rendit fon
Ame, nous laiffant tout fujet de croire que Dieu luy
a fait mifericorde.

On pouroit raporter d'autres exemples femblables,
pour faire voir les refforts de la Divine Providence
pour le falut de fes Elus. C'eft k nous ^ cooperer
fidellement k ce grand Ouvrage, & k aller chercher
ces brebis. errantes, quelques eloignees qu'elles
foient, & quoy qu'il nous en coute, trop heureux d'y
confumer nos vies.

[no] II eft vray que quelques-unes de ces Nations

1666-68] RELA TION OF 1667 -68 263

did not fail this poor old man. When he was ready to
die, he gave his farewell feast [108] to a great Assem-
bly, which was convoked for this purpose from differ-
ent Nations. He did so, to observe their custom,
which he employed to the advantage of the Faith;
for he spoke to all that great company, — in the voice
of a dying man, indeed, but with the accents of a
Captain, and in energetic terms, — declaring to them
that he had lived a Christian for a long time, and
that, dying a Christian, he felt assured of the happi-
ness promised to all Believers. He said that those
who, on the contrary, were unwilling to listen to the
word of God, would be tormented by the Demons
after their death, — much more cruelly, beyond com-
parison, than they themselves tormented an Iroquois
when they had one in their power. He told them
that he [109] died willingly, in the hope of Paradise;
and that, if they were' wise, they would not longer
delay to follow his example. After these words,
which he uttered out of Love to his Compatriots, he
turned his thoughts in good earnest upon himself;
and after having confessed as many as four times,
he yielded up his Soul, leaving us every reason to
believe that God had taken pity on him.

Other and like examples could be given to show
the workings of Divine Providence for the salvation
of its Elect. It is for us to cooperate faithfully in
this great Work and to go after those wandering
sheep, — however distant they may be, and whatever
it may cost us, — only too happy to spend our lives
in the work.

[no] It is true that some of those Nations appeared
this Summer in our Settlements, to the number of
more than six hundred Savages ; but that was for only

264 LES RELATIONS DES j£SUITES [Vol.51

ont pani cet Eft6 en nos Habitations, an nombre de
plus de fix cents Sauvages, mais ce n'a eft6 que
comme un eclair, & pour faire leur petit commerce
avec nos Fran9ois; qui n'eft pas un temps propre
pour les inftruire ; il faut done les fuivre chez eux,
s'accommoder k leurs fa9ons, pour ridicules qu'elles
paroiffent, afin de les attirer aux noftres. Et comme
Dieu s'eft fait homme, pour faire les hommes des
Dieux, un Miffionnaire ne craint pas de fe faire, pour
ainfi dire, Sauvage avec eux, pour les faire Chre-
ftiens : Omnibus omnia fa6lus fum.

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 - 68 265

a very brief space, and in order to carry on tlieir little
traffic with our Frenchmen; that is not a suitable
time for teaching them. We must then follow them
to their homes and adapt ourselves to their ways,
however ridiculous they may appear, in order to
draw them to ours. And, as God made himself man
in order to make men Gods, a Missionary does not fear
to make himself a Savage, so to speak, with them,
in order to make them Christians. Omnibus omnia
/actus sum.

266 LES RELATIONS DES JESUITES [Vol.51

[III] CHAPITRE VII.

DE LA MISSION DE TADOUSSAC.

NOUS traverfons plus de fix cent lieues de terre
pour paffer de la Million des Outaouacs ^ celle
de Tadouffac. Celle Ik eft la plus reculee de
nous vers le Soleil coucliant, & celle cy eft une des
premieres qu'on rencontre vers le Levant, en
montant le Fleuve de faint Laurent.

Le Pere Henry Nouvel, qui a foing de cette Eglife,
ne f9auroit affez louer la piete & I'innocence de ces
Sauvages Chreftiens, qui n'ont prefque plus qu'un
demon k combattre, a f9avoir I'yurognerie, laquelle
feule caufe plus de defordres, que tous les autres
demons enfemble.

[112] L'eloignement des Fran9ois, & la demeure
qu'ils font ordinairement dans les Forefts, les deliure
de ces malheurs, & pendant tout I'Hyver, que le
Pere a paffe avec eux aux environs de Tadouffac, il
a remarque dans fes Neophytes' les ferveurs de la
primitive Eglife, & I'innocence des anciens Anacho-
rettes. Pent eftre trouvera t'on qu'il y a de I'exagera-
tion en ce difcours; mais Monfeigneur I'Evefque qui
a efte temoing d'une partie de leur piete, comme
nous le dirons cy-apres, en eft aff es convaincu ; Et il
n'y a perfonne, qui connoifCe le naturel des Sauvages,
qui n'avoiie qu'on pent faire un Ange d'un Barbare,
fi on luy retranche la boiffon enyvrante ; comme
nous n'experimentons que trop, qu'elle change les

II

1666-68] RELATION OF ib67 -68 267

[III] CHAPTER VII.

OF THE MISSION OF TADOUSSAC.

WE traverse more than six hundred leagues of
territory in passing from the Mission of
the Outaouacs to that of Tadoussac. The
former is the farthest removed from us toward the
West, while the latter is one of the first that is
encountered, on the East, in ascending the River
saint Lawrence.

Father Henry Nouvel, who has charge of that
Church, cannot sufficiently praise the piety and inno-
cence of those Christian Savages, who have little
more to combat than one demon — namely, drunken-
ness, which alone causes more disorders than all the
other demons together.

[ii2] Their remoteness from the French, and their
place of abode, which is ordinarily in the Forests,
deliver them from these evils ; and, during the whole
Winter that the Father passed with them, in the
environs of Tadoussac, he remarked in his Neophytes
all the fervor of the primitive Church and the inno-
cence of the ancient Anchorites. Perhaps it will be
found that there is exaggeration in this language ;
but Monseigneur the Bishop, who has been witness to
a part of their piety, as we shall relate hereafter, is
sufficiently convinced of its reality. Indeed, there
is no one, who is acquainted with the disposition of
the Savages, who does not admit that an Angel can
be made from a Barbarian, if intoxicating liquor be

268 LES RELA TIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol. 51

Chrefliens en Apoftats, [113] & qu'elle defole les
plus belles efperances de nos Eglifes naiffantes.

Le bon Reglement. qui a efl6 mis pendant tout cet
Hyver k Tadouffac, oil Ton n'a veu aucun defordre en
cette matiere, a ell:e fuivy d'une Traitte avantageufe;
& Ton a veu par experience que le grand moyen de
rendre le Fran9ois & les Sauvages riclies dans leur
negoce mutuel, eft d'en exterminer tout commerce
de boilTon, qui provoquant tres iuflement la colere
de Dieu, n'en pent attirer que la maledi(5tion.

Que cecy foit dit pour encourager ceux qui ont en
main le maniement des affaires de Tadouffac, "k con-
tinuer dans le mefme train, qu'ils ont fi heureufement
commence, & pour remercier de la part de noflre
nouvelle Eglife, [114] Meffieurs de la Compagnie des
Indes Occidentales, de I'obligation qu'elle leur a,
d'avoir commis le negoce de ces cartiers, 'k des per-
fonnes fi fidelles k Dieu & aux hommes, & ff zelees
pour le bien des Ames ; leur donnant de plus toute
affeurance que par ce moyen, travaillant avantageufe-
ment k leurs affaires temporelles, ils iettent les fonde-
ments d'une Eglife qui leur fera eternellement
redevable.

Les premiers fruits qu'elle a donne cet Hyver au
Ciel, ont efte une ancienne Chreftienne, nomm^e
Luc[i]e, qui mourut faintement apres avoir receu les
Sacremens avec des fentiments de devotion tout ^
fait raviffants; & une ieune fille agee de douze ans,
k qui fa premiere Comunion fervy [115] de Viatique.
II faudroit lire dans le coeur du Miffionnaire, pour
comprendre la ioye qu'il reffent, quand il voit
ces Ames s'envoler dans le Ciel du milieu de la
Barbarie.

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 269

kept from him, — as we know only too well, by
experience, that it changes Christians into Apostates,
[113] and brings to naught the finest hopes of our
infant Churches,

The excellent Regulation that has been imposed
upon Tadoussac all this past Winter, where no out-
break has been seen in this respect, has been followed
by an advantageous Traffic; and it has been proved
by experience that the great means of rendering
the French and the Savages rich in their mutual
commerce is to exclude from it all trading in drink,
which, provoking very justly the wrath of God, can
only bring down his curse.

Let this be said, in order to encourage those who
have in hand the management of affairs at Tadoussac
to continue in the same course upon which they have
so happily entered; and in order to thank, on the
part of our new Church, [114] the Gentlemen of the
Company of the West Indies for the obligation which
it is under to them, for having entrusted the commerce
of these regions to persons so faithful to God and to
men, and so zealous for the good of Souls. We give
them, furthermore, every assurance that they by this
means are, while acting for the advantage of their
temporal affairs, laying the foundations of a Church
which will be eternally indebted to them.

The first fruits that it gave to Heaven this Winter
were an old Christian woman named Lucie, — who
died a holy death, after receiving the Sacraments
with sentiments of devotion altogether delightful, —
and a young girl, twelve years old, to whom the first
Communion served [i 15] as Viaticum. One would
have to read the Missionary's heart, in order to

270 LES RELATIONS DES J^SUITES [Vol.51

II ne fut pas moins confole "k la mort d'un autre
enfant de trois ans feulement, qui fuivit bientoft
celle dont nous venons de parler. Ses parens qui le
voyoient languilTant depuis long-temps, ne voulurent
pas s' engager avec les autres Sauvages, dans les bois
pour faire leur chaffe ; de peur que cet innocent ne
mouruft eloigne de la Chapelle, & ne put recevoir les
devoirs funebres, qui fe rendent icy aux morts, felon
I'ufage de I'Eglife dot ils font grand eftat. lis en
firet un facrifice k Dieu, [ii6] foit pour la vie, foit
pour la mort, avec une refignation qui n'a prefque
point d'exemple, fi tu nous le rens, difoient-ils \
Dieu, nous le donnerons k la Robe-noire pour ton
fervice: nous n'y pretendons rien: fi tu le retires a
toy, nous fommes contents de te donner ce que tu
nous a donne ; & nous t'abandonnons le cadet avec
la mefme foumiffion que nous t'avons prefent6 I'aine,
que tu as pris a toy il y a cinq ans.

L'employ du Miffionnaire pendant cet hyverne-
ment, a elte de faire des courfes aux environs du
Fleuve du Saguene, pour chercher fes brebis, cha-
cune dans fon cartier d'Hyver; car les Sauvages font
obliges de fe feparer q'k & la, afin de ne fe pas nuire
les vns [117] aux autres pour le voifmage de la chaffe.

Par tout oil il les trouvoit, il faifoit de leurs
Cabannes des Chapelles pour y Baptifer les enfans,
& y adminiftrer les Sacremens, & les inftruire de la
fagon, dont ils fe devoient comporter pendant les
autres courfes qu'il eftoit oblige de faire, pour ne
laiffer aucune de ces Eglifes errantes, fans eftre vifi-
tees: elles font compofees des Sauvages de Tadouffac,
& de quelques-uns de ceux de Sillery, de Gafpe &
des Papinachois.

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 271

understand the joy he feels when he sees these Souls
take flight to Heaven from the midst of Barbarism.

He was not less consoled at the death of another
child, only three years old, following soon after that
of which we have just spoken. His relatives, who
had seen for a long time that he was sinking, were
unwilling to join the other Savages in hunting in the
woods, for fear that this innocent one might die far
from the Chapel, and not be able to receive the
funeral rites which are here solemnized for the dead,
according to the usage of the Church, of which they
make great account. They made a sacrifice of the
child to God, [116] for either life or death, with a
resignation which is almost unexampled. " If thou
give him back to us," they said to God, " we will
give him to the black Gown for thy service. If thou
take him back to thyself, we are content to give to
thee what thou hast ' given to us; and we resign to
thee the younger child, with the same submission
with which we presented thee the elder, whom thou
didst take to thyself five years ago."

The occupation of the Missionary during this
winter campaign has been to take trips to the regions
along the Saguene River, in order to seek his sheep,
each in its Winter quarters; for the Savages are
obliged to scatter here and there, in order not to in-
jure one [117] another by their proximity in hunting.

Wherever he found them, he made Chapels of their
Cabins, in order to Baptize the children, and admin-
ister the Sacraments therein ; he also instructed them
how they should conduct themselves while he was
away on other trips, which he was obliged to make
in order not to leave a single one of those nomad
Churches unvisited. They are composed of the

272 LES RELATIONS DES J^SUITES [Vol.51

Pendant ces excurfions, il a fait rencontre d'un
nombre furprenant de lacs, grands & petits : il en vit
vn entre-autres, 61oigne de la Mer de fept ou huit
lieues, [i i8] avec lequel il n*a auctin commerce appa-
rent, & qui a neantmoins fon flus & reflus tres regl6,
& qui fouffre des tempeftes, comme celles de I'Ocean.

II parla auffi en paffant "k une bande de Chaffeurs,
qui ayants rencontre la pifte & le gifle du grand
Orignal, le pourfuivirent un iour entier fans le
pouvoir joindre; voicy ce qu'ils racontent de cet
animal extraordinaire.

Tous les plus grands Originaux ne font que de
petits nains, compares ^ celuy-cy : il a les jambes fi
hautes, que pour profonde que foit la neige, il n'en
eft iamais incommode ; au lieu que les autres y font
comme enfeuelis; & c'eft ce qui les fait prendre
aif6ment. [119] II a la peau ^ I'^preuve des fleches &
des fufils, & paroit invulnerable. lis adjoutent qu'il
porte vne cinqui^me jambe, qui luy fort des efpaules,
& dont il fe fert comme de main pour fe preparer fon
gifte. II ne va iamais feul & ne paroit point fans
eftre efcort6 de grand nombre d 'autres Orignaux; &
de fait nos Chaffeurs difent qu'ils en tuerent quinze
en le pourfuivant; c'eft-ce qu'ils racontent de c6t
Orignal fabuleux.

Sur la fin de I'Hyver toutes ces Eglifes errantes
s'eftans ramaffees ^ Tadouffac, eurent la confolation
quelque temps apres, de jouir de la prefence de Mon-
feigneur I'Euefque de Petree, lequel apres auoir fait
par tout fa vifite en Canot, c'eft ^ dire ^ la mercy
[120] d'une frefle efcorce, & apres avoir parcouru
toutes nos habitations depuis Quebec iufques au
deffus de Montreal, donnant meme iufqu'au Fort de

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 273

Savages of Tadoussac, Gasp6, and the Papinachois,
with some of those of Sillery.

During these excursions he has encountered a
surprising number of lakes, large and small ; among
others, he saw one, seven or eight leagues distant
from the Sea, [118] with which it has no apparent
communication, while it nevertheless has its ebb and
flow with great regularity and is subject to storms
like those of the Ocean.

He also talked with a band of Hunters whom he
met, who, having come upon the trail and the bed
of the great Moose, pursued it for a whole day, with-
out being able to overtake it. Notice what they
relate of this extraordinary animal.

All the largest Moose are only little dwarfs com-
pared with this one ; he has legs so long that, how-
ever deep the snow may be, he is never inconven-
ienced by it, while the' others are almost buried in it,
and on that account they are easily caught. [119] He
has a skin that is arrow-proof and bullet-proof, and he
seems invulnerable. They add that he carries a fifth
leg, which grows out from his shoulders and which
he uses like a hand in preparing his bed. He never
goes alone, and does not appear without being es-
corted by a great number of other Moose; and, in
fact, our Hunters said that they killed fifteen of the
latter while chasing it. That is what they tell of
this fabulous Moose.

Toward the close of the Winter, all these wander-
ing Churches gathered together at Tadoussac, and
had the consolation, some time afterward, of enjoy-
ing the presence of Monseigneur the Bishop of
Petraea. The latter, after having made his visits
everywhere by Canoe, — that is to say, at the mercy

274 LES RELATIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol.51

fainte Anne, qui eft le plus eloigne de tous les Forts,
k I'entr^e du Lac Champlain; voulut faire part de fes
benedidtions ^ noftre Eglife des Sauvages de Ta-
douflac, s'y eftant rendu fur la fin de luin, apres
avoir bien fouffert de la part des calmes & des
tempeltes de la Mer: voicy ce qui s'y paffa.

1666-68] RELATION OF 1667-68 275

[120] of a frail sheet of bark, — and after going the
round of all our settlements from Quebec to those
above Montreal, even traveling as far as Fort sainte
Anne, — which is the farthest distant of all the Forts,
being at the entrance to Lake Champlain, — chose
that our Church of the Savages of Tadoussac should
share in his benedictions. He accordingly proceeded
thither toward the end of June, after many sufferings
from calms and storms on the Sea; what took place
there is given below.

276 LES RELATIONS DES j£SUJTES [Vol.51

CHAPITRE VIII.

ARRIUEE DE MONSEIGNEUR L'EVESQUE DE PETR^E

A TADOUSSAC POUR Y FAIRE

SA VISITE.

LES heureux fucces que Dieu a donnes aux armes
du Roy [i2i] dans la Nouvelle France, faifant
ioiiir nos Sauvages de Tadouffac, auffi bien
que tons les autres qui nous font allies, des agreables
fruits de la paix; cette Eglife, que la crainte de
r Iroquois avoit difperf6e 9^ & \k, s'eft heureufement
reiinie dans fon ancien pofte, qui eft rembouchure
de la Riuiere du Saguenay, appell6 Tadouffac. M.
I'Evefque le f§achant, & ayant eft6 inform^ d6s le
Printemps de la fatisfa(5tion que les Sauvages de
cette Eglife auoient donn6e h. leur Pafteur, qui avoit
hivern6 avec eux dans les bois, fit fjavoir qu'il les
vifiteroit.

Cette nouvelle les confola beaucoup; mais fon
arriv6e ^ Tadouffac, qui fut le 24. luin, les combla
de ioye, qu'ils firent paroiftre [122] en fa reception;
car s'eftans trouv6s au nobre de quatre cens ames h.
fon debarquement, ils t^moignerent par la decharge
de leurs fufils, & par leurs acclamations, le contente-
ment qu'ils avoient de voir une perfonne qui leur
eftoit fi chere, & dont la plufpart avoit fouvent
experimente les bont6s.

Ils Taccompagnerent en fuite en leur Cbapelle
d'Efcorce, le feu ayant reduit en cendre celle qu'on

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 - 68 277

CHAPTER VIII.

ARRIVAL OF MONSEIGNEUR THE BISHOP OF PETRiEA

AT TADOUSSAC, FOR THE PURPOSE OF

MAKING HIS VISIT THERE.

THE fortunate success that God has given to the
arms of the King [12 1] in New France has made
our Savages of Tadoussac, as well as all the
others who are allied to us, enjoy the agreeable fruits
of peace. That Church, which the fear of the Iro-
quois had scattered hither and thither, has become
happily reunited at its former location, which is at
the mouth of the River Saguenay, and is called
Tadoussac. Monseigneur the Bishop, knowing this,
and having been informed early in the Spring of the
satisfaction which the Savages of that Church had
given their Pastor, who had wintered with them in
the woods, notified them that he would visit them.

This news cheered them greatly; but his arrival
at Tadoussac, on the 24th of June, crowned their
joy, and they expressed it [122] in their reception of
him. Gathering to the number of four hundred
souls, at his landing, they testified, by the discharge
of their guns and by their exclamations, the pleas-
ure that they felt at seeing a person who was so dear
to them, and whose acts of kindness the greater part
of them had often experienced.

They accompanied him then to their Chapel of
Bark, the one that had been built for them having
been burned to ashes ; and there he caused them to

278 LES RELATIONS DES J&SUITES [Vol, 51

leur avoit baftie ; & Ik il leur fit dire le motif de fon
arriv6e en ce lieu, k fgavoir, pour fe conjouTr avec
eux de I'affedtion qu'ils t^moignent avoir en vers leur
Chriftianifme, pour adminiflrer le Sacrement de
Confirmation a ceux qui ne I'ont pas receu, & pour
les affeurer des bons fentimens [123] que le Roy a
pour eux, dont ils ont des marques bien evidentes,
par la paix, k laquelle il a force les Iroquois.

Cela fait, la Charity de ce digne Evefque les ravit,
lors qu'au fortir de la Chapelle, ils le virent entrer
dans leurs Cabannes les unes apres les autres, pour
y vifiter les malades & les Capitaines ; conf olant ceux
la par fa prefence, dont ils eftoient confus, & par fes
cliarit6s qu'il eftendoit fur eux, fur leurs pauvres
vefves, & fur leurs Orphelins; & encourageant ceux-
cy a appuyer la Foy de leur autorit6, & fe maintenir
toujours dans les devoirs de veritables Chreftiens ; ce
qu'il renouvella en un celebre Feftin, leur recom-
mandant fur tout de n'oublier jamais les obligations
infignes [124] qu'ils ont au Roy, qu'ils doivent confi-
derer comme leur Liberateur, & comme celuy k qui
feul apr6s Dieu, ils ont 1' obligation de leur repos &
de leur vie.

Les quatres iours fuivans furent employes a difpo-
fer k la Confirmation, ceux qui ne I'avoient pas
encore receue. Ce Sacrement fut adminiftre 'k
diverfes reprifes, a cent quarante neufs perfonnes.
La devotion, avec laquelle ils I'ont receu, & qu'ils
ont fait paroiftre par tout ailleurs, a ravi Monfei-
gneur, & luy a fait avoiier que les peines qu'il a
prifes pour ce voyage, luy donnent une fatiffac5tion
toute particuliere : de voir de fes propres yeux le
Chriftianifme en vigueur, & la piete regner parmy

1666 - 68] RELA TION OF 1667 - 68 279

be told the motive of his coming to that place, —
namely, to enjoy with them the love which, as they
showed, they felt for their Christian faith ; to admin-
ister the Sacrament of Confirmation to those who had
not received it ; and to assure them of the kind feel-
ings [123] entertained toward them by the King, of
which they had very evident proofs in the peace to
which he had forced the Iroquois.

That done, the Charity of this worthy Bishop
charmed them when, upon leaving the Chapel, they
saw him enter their Cabins, one after the other, to
visit the sick therein, and the Captains, — comforting
the former by his presence, at which they were
embarrassed, and by the manifestations of his love
which he extended to them, to their poor widows,
and to their Orphans ; and encouraging the latter to
uphold the Faith by their authority, and to continue
always in the observance of the duties of true Chris-
tians. All this he reiterated at a notable Feast, —
urging upon them, above all, never to forget the
great obligations [124] they owed to the King, whom
they were bound to consider as their Liberator, and
as the one to whom alone, next to God, they owed
their peaceful condition and their lives.

The succeeding four days were employed in
preparing for Confirmation those who had not yet
received it. This Sacrament was administered, on
different occasions, to a hundred and forty-nine
persons. The devotion with which they received it,
and which they manifested everywhere else, de-
lighted Monseigneur, and made him confess that the
trouble he had taken for this journey gave him the
utmost satisfaction upon seeing, with his own eyes,
Christianity flourishing and piety reigning among

280 LES RELA TIONS DES /^SUITES [Vol. 51

ces pauvres Sauvages, [125] autant & plus que parmy
beaucoup des Nations policees.

Dieu refervoit k cette Miffion la converfion de quel-
ques Sauvages infideles, qui ont vefcu long temps
parmy les Chreftiens, avec une averfion eftonnante du
Chriftianifme, & qui fe font trouv6s fi fortement
touches par la veue & par les inftrudtions de Monfleur
de Petree, qu'ils ont change tout d'un coup de refo-
lution, & n'afpirent plus depuis ce temps 1'^, qu'au
Baptefme.

C'eft un effet des benedicftions qui accompagnent
toujours le Caradtere, & qui va donner une nouvelle
force a nos Chreftiens, dans I'efperance qu'ils ont de
ioui'r encore, les annees fuivantes du mefme bonheur.

1666-68] RELATION OF ibbj -68 281

those poor Savages [125] — even more than among
many civilized Nations.

God reserved for this Mission the conversion of
some unbelieving Savages who had lived a long time
among Christians, with an astonishing aversion for
Christianity ; but who were so deeply affected by the
sight of Monsieur of Petraea, and by his instructions,
that they changed their minds all at once ; and, ever
since then, Baptism has been the highest object of
their aspirations.

That is an effect of the benedictions that always
accompany the holy Character, — an effect which is
going to give a new strength to our Christians, in
the hope that they entertain of again enjoying the
same happiness in years to come.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA : VOL LI

CXXI

For bibliographical particulars of Relation of
1666-67, see Vol. L.

CXXII

The original MS. of Bruyas's letter of January 2 1 ,
1668, is in the possession of C. F. Gunther, Chicago,
to whom we are indebted for permission to transcribe
the same for the present publication. It consists of
seven pages, and bears no address, so that it is not
known to whom it was written — but probably to the
superior at Quebec, Le Mercier.

CXXIII

Bibliographical details of the Journal des /^suites
were given in Vol. XXVIL This is the final install-
ment of one of the most valuable documents in our
series.

CXXIV

In reprinting the Relation of 1667-68 (Paris, 1669),
we follow the original Cramoisy edition from a copy
in the Lenox Library ; but as that copy has not the
" Lettre de la Reverende Mere Svperievre," we have
recourse for that to the British Museum's copy. The
prefatory epistle from Frangois le Mercier to the
provincial in France is not dated in this annual ; and

28-4 LES RELA TIONS DES /^SUITES

the volume does not present a printed " Permission "
and " Privilege."

Sebastien Cramoisy died in January, 1669; hence
this is the first Relation bearing Sebastien Mabre-Cra-
moisy's name alone in the imprint. It is also the
last one having a cut with storks as a printer's mark;
and the first in which de fa Majejl^ is substituted for
dii Roy in the last line of the title-page. The ap-
pended letter from the Mother Superior is dated
" Kebec le 20. Odtobre 1668; " and its separate title
reads as follows: " LETTRE | DE la | Reverende
MERE I SVPERIEVRE | Des Religieufes Hofpitali-
eres | de Kebec en la Nouvelle | France. | Du 20.
Odtobre 1668."

It is excessively rare, and we know of but two
copies — that in the British Museum, and another in
the Bibliotheque de 1' Arsenal of Paris. It was not
reproduced in the Quebec reprint of 1858. We may
state, however, that it is not called for in the table of
contents. Strictly considered, the Relation is not
imperfect without it; but a copy with it is, of
course, to be preferred. This volume forms no. 128
of Harrisse's Notes.

There are two copies of the Relation at Harvard
which are, apparently, identical so far as the text is
concerned ; but the imprints on their title-pages are
dissimilar. One agrees with the Lenox copy; the
other reads as follows : "A PARIS, [ ChEZ Sebastien
Mabre-Cramoisy, I Imprimeur ordinaire du Roy,
rue S. I lacques, aux Cicognes. | M. DC. LXIX. |
A vec Privilege de fa MajeflL

Collation: Title, with verso blank, i leaf; Le Mer-
cier's prefatory letter, pp. (4) ; " Table des Chapitres,"
pp. (2); text, pp. I -2 19, with verso of p. 219 blank;

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA: VOL. LI 285

two blank leaves to complete signature O, one of
which is usually pasted on the cover. Signatures : a
in four, A-O in eights. All copies which we have
examined have p. 140 mispaged 104; and in the
Lenox copy p. 129 is mispaged 12.

The copy in the British Museum collates like the
preceding; but the " Lettre " follows directly after
the \a.st printed leaf of the Relation. This " Lettre "
collates as follows: Title, with verso blank, i leaf;
text of letter, with subsequent " Memoire de [ce] qvi
est necessaire," pp. 3-12; followed by a blank leaf,
no doubt belonging to the Relation proper.

Copies of the Relation, without the " Lettre," have
been sold as follows: Stevens's Historical Collections
(1881), no. 1485, £6. 2S. 6d. ; and Barlow (1890), no.
1 3 19, S5. Copies are to be found in the following
libraries : Lenox ; New York State Library ; Harvard,
two varieties; Brown (private); Marshall (private);
Ayer (private); Laval University (Quebec); Library
of Parliament (Ottawa) ; Public Library of Toronto ;
British Museum, with the " Lettre;" Bibliotheque
de I'Arsenal (Paris), with the "Lettre;" and Bib-
liotheque Nationale (Paris).

In this Relation, pp. 168-219 are occupied with
a ' ' Lettre Circvlaire ' ' from the Mother Superior,
Marie de S. Bonnaventure de Jesus, and additions
from another hand. Her letter is dated on p. 196:
" A Quebec ce 4. Odtobre 1668." All of this matter,
except pp. 217-219, an account " Des Vrfulines &
Hofpitalieres," is reprinted from the following sepa-
rate original : "LETTRE I CIRCVLAIRE I DELAMORT
I De la Reuerende Mere Catherine de | S. Auguftin,
Religieufe Hofpitaliere | de Quebec, deced^e le 8.
May 1668." The only known copy was found by

286

LES RELATIONS BES JASUITES

Henry Harrisse in the possession of a Parisian book-
seller in 1883, and through him passed into the
library of the late S. L. M. Barlow of New York. On
a fly-leaf Harrisse wrote, dated " Paris May 17th,
1883," as follows: " It was lately found at Paris, and
seems to come from the library of one of the religious
orders which last year were expelled the country."
He valued it at ;Cioo, sterling. At the sale of the
Barlow books in 1 890, it was purchased by the Lenox
Library for $265, being lot 1469 of the sale catalogue.
Now this piece was undoubtedly printed by the
Cramoisys late in 1668 (for it is their type), although
nothing in it reveals the publisher, or the place or
date of issuance. The Mother Superior's " Lettre "
is dated on p. 30 " A Quebec, le 4. Octobre 1668," a
slight variation from the reprint. Generally the
original and reprint agree textually, but not typo-
graphically. The following examples will suffice in
illustration of variants :

Original.

vn lien

de fouffrir

fon Epoux

de tous coflez

telle dit

lo' bligea

crut

delia efcrit

funienu

desja

nous voyions

de diners faints

de fon efprit

parlant a Dieu

trouuez

Reprint.

un lieu

de fouffrit

fon Efpoux

de tous les coflez

t'elle dit

I'obligea

ctut

deja ecrit

furvenue

deja

nous voyons

de divers Ss

de fon efpit

parlant a Cieu

tiouvez

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA: VOL. LI 287

Collation: Title, with verso blank, i leaf; text of
letter, pp. 3-30; supplementary text by another
hand, beginning: " CETTE LETRE \sic-\ CIRCV-
LAIRE," pp. 31-50. Signatures: A-C in eights,
and D in one. No mispaging, but sig. Bij is mis-
printed Aij.

NOTES TO VOL LI

(Figures in parentheses, following number of note, refer to pages

of English text. J

1 (p. 2i). — For information regarding the Ottawas (Outaouacs),
see vol. xiv., note q; the Kiskakons, an Ottawa clan, vol. xxxiii.,
note 6. The Sinagaux (Sinagos), another clan of that tribe, were
nearly annihilated in an invasion of the Sioux country, about 1671
see Perrot's account of this affair, in his Mimoire (Tailhan ed.),
pp. 99-104.

2 (p. 31). — Cf. the descriptions of the Huron feast Ononharoia, in
vol. X., pp. 175, 183, and vol. xvii., pp. 167-187.

3 (P- 35)- — Regarding the burning of the dead, see Brinton's
Myths of New World (3rd ed.), pp. 168-170. Cf. vol. xx. of this
series, note 11.

4 (P- 53)- — One of the numerous forms of the name Mississippi —
Mitchi-sipi, " the great rivei*; " the first mention of the river by this
name, in the Relations.

5 (p. 87). — Regarding the priest Morel, see vol. xlvi., note 15; the
church of Ste. Anne at Beaupre, vol. 1., note i.

6 (p. 89). — Elie Gaudin (Godin) was bom, according to Tanguay,
in 1621 ; his wife was Esther Ramage, by whom he had four children.
He died in January, 1672.

7 (p. 97). — Cf. the account of the same miracle given in vol. 1.,
pp. 45-49-

8 (p. 113). — Manus Dei: the somewhat extravagant name of a
plaster then held in much repute; it was composed of oil, wax,
myrrh, incense, mastic, and other gums, to which were added lith-
arge, verdigris, and calamine. As the text mentions an ointment
thus named, it probably contained ingredients similar to those of the
plaster. Martiatum : a corruption of unguentum ntartiani, " oint-
ment of Martianus " (its inventor, a physician). It was composed of
olive oil, saturated with the essential oils of various vegetable sub-
stances ; goose, bear, and deer oils ; liquid styrax, elemi, mastic, and
various balms. It was vulnerary, resolutive, and cleansing. See
Felice's Encyclop^die, t. xxvii., pp. 420, 645, 646.

Cf. the similar list of drugs in vol. xlix., pp. 205-207; also note 20,

290 LES RELA TIONS DES jtSUITES

in same volume. The following information, additional thereto, but
received too late for insertion in that note, is furnished by Dr. J. U.
Lloyd, of the Lloyd Botanical Library, Cincinnati: " (i) Onguent
blanc de Rhazks is mentioned in Jotirdan's Pharmacopie univer-
selle (Paris, 1840), t. ii., p. 242; and various formulae for this com-
pound are given, with the pharmacopoeial source of each. (2)
Mundificative. Recipes for and comments upon two ointments of
this class — ' parsley,' and ' resin ' — are given in Lemery's Pharma-
copie universelle (Paris, 1698). (3) Corrosive sublimate. The
time of its discovery is unknown. Rhazes and Avicenna, celebrated
Arabian physicians of the loth and nth centuries, are the first to
mention it in their works. Some writers, however, assert that the
Chinese have known this substance from time immemorial; and
that Geber described its preparation in the 8th century."

9 (p. 141). — Xavier's letters were written in Spanish or in Latin ;
a French translation of these, in four books, was published by Cra-
moisy (Paris), in 1628. Sommervogel thinks that this translation
was made by Frangois Solier, a French Jesuit (1577- 1628).

10 (p. 141). — This is an allusion to the custom which obliges the
younger religious who are yet students to practice preaching in the
refectory', while the others are eating dinner. — Rev. Joseph Le
Halle, S.J.

11 (p. 151). — "Here ends the handwriting of Father le Mercier,
and the few lines which complete the volume are in the hand of the
person who revised the Journal and supplied a part of the marginal
notes." — Quebec ed. oi Journal, p. 361, note.

12 (p. 171). — Claude de Bouteroue was temporarily appointed
intendant for New France, during Talon's absence in France (vol.
xlix., note 14); in 166S-70.

13 (p. 177). — The abbe de Queylus (vol. xliii., note 9), superior of
the Sulpitian house at Montreal, had been recalled to France in 1659
(vol. x\n., note 5). Two years later, he made an unsuccessful
attempt to reinstate himself at Montreal (vol. xlvi., pp. 183, 187,
and note 17), and was unable to settle there until 1668, the time
mentioned in our text.

Two of these Sulpitians, Fenelon (vol. 1. , note 24) and Claude
Trouve, were sent to the Ca^niga colony mentioned in the text, which
was located at the western extremity of Quinte (Kente) Bay. An
account of this Sulpitian mission (the first labors of that order among
the Iroquois) was \vritten by DoUier de Casson (vol. 1., note 11); it
appears at the end of his Histoire du Montreal. A translation (by
Shea) of this document, with a resume of the mission's entire his-
tory, is given by Hawley, in his Early Cayuga Hist., pp. 83-99.

NOTES TO VOL. LI 291

14 (p. 179). — In the archives of St. Mary's College, Montreal, is
an apograph by Martin of a letter written by Pierron during the
stay of the missionaries at Fort Ste. Anne; it is dated Aug. 12, 1667.
He describes his recent voyage from France, his impressions of the
country, the present status of the relations between the French and
Iroquois, and what he has thus far observed of the characteristics
and customs of the savages. He admires the Iroquois language,
which reminds him of the Greek.

15 (p. 181). — Corlart: Arendt Van Curler ; see biographical sketch
of this Dutch official in vol. xxv., note 2.

16 (p. 187). — Gandaouague was then the Mohawk village farthest
east ; see Beauchamp's map of Iroquois villages, post.

17 (p. 201). — Tionnontoguen, the most western Mohawk village,
had been destroyed by Tracy in 1666, but it was afterward rebuilt on
the north side of the Mohawk River; see Beauchamp's map for its
earlier site.

Iroquois C

Indicating sites of In
17th and i8th centuries,
upon data furnished by R
ville, N. Y.

The map is in two sec
west of the Mohawk Riv«
See Notes opposite, for de

NOTES TO VOL. LI 293

NOTES TO MAP OF IROQUOIS CANTONS IN NEW YORK.

BY REV. W. M. BEAUCHAMP, S. T. D.

[The mimbers of these notes correspond to the numbers attached to
the sites marked on the map. Sites of Indian villages are indicated
by a heavy dot; those of missions, by x. The names of modem
towns and villages are given with their locations.]

SENEGAS.

1. Sonnontouan (or Totiakton): location of mission of La Con-
ception. On west bank of Honeoye Creek, two miles N. of Honeoye
Falls, and 12^ miles S. from the center of Rochester (vol. viii., p. 302).

2. Gandagaro (Canagora): mission of St. Jacques. On Bough-
ton Hill, one mile S. from Victor.

3. Gandougarae (Canaenda): mission of St. Michel. Three and
one-half miles S. from Boughton Hill.

4. Gandachiragou (Keinthe): mission of St. Jean; at Lima.

5. Seneca castle of 1750, near Geneva. After the Erie war, the
Senecas spread east and west, and had many small villages.

CAYUGAS.

6. Onontari: mission of St. Rene. East of Seneca River, 2)^
miles E. from Savannah. Named from Fort Hill, nearly opposite.

7. Thiohero: mission of St. Stephen. Two miles N. of Cayuga
village.

8. Goiogouen (Onioen, in 1654): mission of St. Joseph. South of
Union Springs, and i)^ miles from Cayuga Lake (vol. viii., p. 298).

9. A smaller mission village, near Mapleton. In each nation were
several of such mission stations.

ONONDAGAS.

10. Fishing village, at Phoenix, on the Oswego River. Le Moyne
halted there in 1654.

11. Ganentaa: French fort, and mission of Ste. Marie (1656).
On the E. side of Onondaga Lake, between Syracuse and Liverpool,
N. of Rome and Watertown R. R. bridge.

12. Salt spring visited by Le Moyne in 1654; Frontenac'scamp in

294 LES RELA TIONS DES j£SUITES

1696. On the inlet, nearer the lake, was the fishing village of Kane-
enda, in 1700.

13. Onondaga fort of 1756, W. of creek.

14. Onondaga village of 1743, E. of creek. The present reserva-
tion is S. of this site, in the same valley.

15. Fishing village of Techiroguen, where Champlain crossed
in 1615, Le Moyne in 1654, and Dablon and Chaumonot in 1655.
Dablon, in returning, crossed the lake upon the ice.

16. Onondaga, burned in 1696. On the E. side of Butternut
Creek, one mile S. of Jamesville.

17. Onondaga of 1654: mission of St. Jean Baptiste. On Indian
Hill, two miles S. of Manlius ; the largest village that the Onondagas
ever had ; see vol. viii. , p. 299. Southwest of this was another \'il-
lage, mentioned by Greenhalgh in 1677.

18. Onondaga of 1640: a mile S. of Pompey Center, and on E.
bank of West Limestone Creek.

19. Onondaga of 1630: \% miles N. W. of Delphi. This and the
preceding may have been of the same period, as occupation of one
town often began before the other was abandoned.

20. Onondaga of 1620: two forts, inhabited about the same time.
The older one is 2]^ miles S. W., the other a mile S., of Delphi.

21. Onondaga of 1600: 2 miles W. of Cazenovia, and E. of West
Limestone Creek.

ONEIDAS.

22. Oneida fort of 1615, attacked by Champlain: on Nichols's
Pond, 3 miles E. of Perry ville (vol. v., note 50).

23. The latest Oneida castle. Before this, they had lived farther
up the valley ; see vol. viii. , p. 300.

24. Oneida, burned in 1696: mission of St. Francis Xavier. Two
miles N. E. of Munnsville. There were several successive villages
within a short distance.

MOHAWKS.

25. One of the three early clan forts of this tribe, about i6oo: 4
miles N. W. of Fort Plain.

26. Early Mohawk fort, about 1600: 2 miles N. E. of Ephrata, on
E. side of Garoga Creek.

27. Early Mohawk fort, about 1600: a mile from Sammonsville,
and 4 miles N. of Fonda.

28. Village of 1620: 5 miles N. W. of Canajoharie, and E. of
Garoga Creek.

NOTES TO VOL. LI 295

29. Most easterly Mohawk castle, abandoned in 1626: a little S.
W. of Port Jackson.

30. Ossernenon: mission of the Martyrs. Eastern castle of 1642 ;
near Auriesville, and ^ mile S. of Mohawk River (vol. viii., p. 300).

31. Andagoron: middle castle of 1642, near Fultonville.

32. Tionontoguen (Theonondiogo): western castle of 1642. At
Spraker's Basin, 4 miles S. E. of Canajoharie. There were other
villages, about the same time.

33. Gandaouagui: eastern village in 1677, or earlier, when all
the towns had been removed to the north side of the Mohawk. At
Fonda, on the west side of Cayadutta Creek. The other villages lay
a few miles farther west, Tionontoguen being about 10 miles from
Gandaouagui.

34. Last battle with Mohegans, in 1669; at Hoffman's Ferry.
There are several small village sites of the missionary period.

Seneca and Cayuga sites are partly those identified by Gen. John
S. Clark and Hon. George S. Conover ; some of these I have altered.

The village first mentioned by the name of Sonnontouan may have
been nearer the Genesee River, where there are numerous earlier
Iroquoian sites. It was a well-known practice of the Huron-Iroquois
to withdraw their frontier villages in case of a great war, — a prac-
tice very evident in the Onondaga sites.

The small Ithaca site of the Cayugas is distinctly modem, and was
occupied by an adopted people.

There are but three villages in the Mohawk territory which can be
called prehistoric, — one each for the Turtle, Bear, and Wolf clans.
All these show signs of a knowledge of Europeans ; and one, at least,
of direct but slight contact. Being refugees, and in fear of their
enemies, they placed their first villages quite remote from the Mo-
hawk River, — from four to ten miles. As soon as they possessed fire-
arms, and the power secured by these, they built their dwellings
along the river.

On his return from the Mohawks in 1652, Poncet was taken, by
way of the West Canada Creek trail, to the Oswegatchie and St.
Lawrence rivers.

The weight of evidence is in favor of the proposition that the
several Iroquois nations came into New York from different direc-
tions,— the Mohawks last of all, — with habits and language already
differentiated. So clear is this evidence that I can assign to the Iro-
quois League no earlier date than between the years 1570 and 1600.

I